Centre recommends cap on screen time for online classes

NEW DELHI: Schoolchildren in Classes 1-8 should spend no more thantwoteachingsessionsof30-45 minutes each in a day and those in higherclassesmusthaveonlyfour such sessions, the Union human resource department (HRD) ministry said on Tuesday in guidelines meant to limit the time students spend in front of screens at a time when the coronavirus disease(covid-19)pandemichasshut schools around the world.

Theguidelines—whicharenot binding but are likely to be adoptedbyschoolsaffiliatedtothe Central Board of Secondary Education(cbse)andkendriyavidyalayas — are meant “to mitigate theimpactofthepandemic”onthe roughly 240 million children as schoolsstayshuttoreducetherisk of infection. The document notes thatschoolswillneedto“remodel” and “re-imagine” teaching and learning methods by introducing suitable home and institutional schooling methods.

According to the guidelines, made in consultation with CBSE and the National Council of Educational Research and Training

(NCERT), pre-primary children shouldnotbemadetositinfrontof screens for over 30 minutes while childrenofclasses1to8shouldnot be asked to attend more than two sessions of 30-45 minutes on days they hold online classes. Students in Classes 9-12 can be part of up to four sessions a day of 30-45 minutes each.

“Do not rush for the sake of completing the syllabus, rather focusontheconsolidationoflearning. Plan the interventions keeping in mind students’ level, age, resource availability, nature of content, etc,” the guidelines suggest.ratherthanrelyingtoomuch on teaching in front of screens, schools have been asked to focus onthealternativeacademiccalendar, which the NCERT is preparing for the year.

Children exposed to digital technologies or gadgets for a longer time are prone to severe health issues, officials and past research has said, prompting authorities to look for ways in which exposure to digital gadgets can be avoided by designing ageappropriate schedules. HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said the guidelines, titled Pragyata,havebeendeveloped from the perspective of learners.