After the State government announced online classes and classes through television broadcast for government school students from July 13, Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan on Friday said that the government should ensure that education is made available to students in an impartial manner.
In a statement, Mr. Haasan said that online classes and television-aided classrooms were only for ‘big cities’.
“Though this could be seen as an attempt to impart education without any disruption, everybody knows that online education via mobiles is 100% for the big cities. There are concerns over whether this was an informed decision or one taken as a counter to the initiative taken by private schools,” said Mr. Haasan. He added that the decision to impart education through TV broadcast may have been taken without understanding the pros and cons.
“If a family has two children, how can they learn via television? How can government schoolteachers, who do not have experience teaching via television, do well? Have they been trained? Who will clear the doubts of the students?” Mr. Haasan said.
He pointed out that there were still households without televisions or cable TV connections.
Mr. Haasan added: “Education is a ladder to many families. The State government shouldn’t take decisions in haste. It should not make contradictory decisions, and must consult with parents, teachers and Education Department officials.”
