VIRTUAL CLASSES STARTED
It was a unique day for the state. During the pandemic nobody thought of reopening the schools as usual.
But the people of Kerala unitedly fought against the pandemic covid -19 in a different way.
Signalling the beginning of the new academic year, nearly 45 Lakh students in Kerala attended virtual classes conducted by the state government in an attempt to ensure the starting of classes defeating the Covid-19 pandemic.
“First Bell”, the online sessions were telecast through victors Channel under the State General Education Department for classes 1 to 10 and class 12 students from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm on week days. The sessions will also be available on KITE victors website and mobile app. During the first week, the classes will be on trial basis and these will be repeated in the second week of this month. The classes will be available on YouTube and all classes will be repeated on Saturday and Sunday. Teachers will also watch the classes and should clear the doubts of the students through telephone or WhatsApp.
Inaugurating the historic moment, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made an appeal to students, teachers and parents for their active participation while launching the e learning initiative in the state.
“I wish all the students a wonderful academic session. The teachers and the parents should ensure that the children attend the online class. It is not possible to start normal classes in schools as it may cause spread of the virus. However, we need to carry forward the studies of our children”, Chief Minister said.
Education Minister Professor C. Raveendranath said :
“The virtual learning can’t replace classrooms. During Covid times, we need to develop alternatives in the education sector.”
Really it is the motto behind the initiatives.
The traditional form of classroom learning will resume after lifting the lockdown.
Earlier the state has organised nearly 45000 smart class rooms in schools spread over 941 Gram Panchayaths, 87 Municipalities and 6 Corporations in the state.
More over there were 1.2 lakh laptops and 4545 televisions provided in schools as part of hi-tech projects in the state. These infrastructures in the schools in the state will definitely make the virtual class a grand success in coming days.
The modules for classes were prepared by State Council of Educational Research (SCERT), Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE), Samagra Shiksha (SSK) and State Institute of Educational Technology.
However apprehensions among nearly 2 lakh students were raised who do not have access to television, phone or internet in the state.
The government will provide all infrastructural facilities including smart phones to the students with the help of local administration and people of the state.
In northern districts some students in remote areas could not make use of the online facility due to poor internet connectivity and power disruption due to heavy rain during the onset of monsoon.
In the border areas of Kasargod where mostly speak Kannada and Tulu, there was no Kannada medium classes available on Victers channel.
However preparations were already initiated to telecast the programmes in Kannada too.
As in earlier years the academic session for students started with a bang.
So also the northwest monsoon has struck the Kerala coast as usual.
It’s not virtual, but it’s real that due to Corona, our students enjoy classes at home.
