Hyderabad: The new academic year in the state will start at the end of July or in the beginning of August as the government announced to issue the guidelines about the reopening of schools and colleges in July.
According to the government’s notice, the possibility of reopening of schools and colleges for new academic year 2020-21 will start at the end of July or in the beginning of August.
According to the new guidelines for lockdown 5.0, the state governments have to wait for the centre’s fresh guideline for schools and colleges, till then all private and government schools and colleges will remain closed.
To contain the spread of coronavirus, most educational institutions have been shut since the end of March.
Teachers and school administrators have been advised to continue communication with students through virtual lectures or portals like Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC). However, in the absence of physical classrooms and proper digital infrastructure, both teachers and students are facing unprecedented challenges.
According to the 2017-’18 National Sample Survey report on education, only 24% of Indian households have an internet facility. While 66% of India’s population lives in villages, only a little over 15% of rural households have access to internet services. For urban households, the proportion is 42% – Scroll report.
For online classes, the students have to bear the cost of internet. Many students who are living in rural areas cannot afford smartphones, laptops, computers and internet service in their home.
There is no communication yet from governments on whether it is going to reimburse students or will provide free or subsidised data packs.
So, the online classes are challenging for the students who lives in villages, district areas.