Education dept to expand social media presence
As schools in the city open up after being shut for more than a year owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Delhi government has decided to engage an agency to ensure increased social media presence of the education department and enhance community outreach for policies that concern schools and education, said a senior government official on Friday.
The initiative, the official said will help the government improve communication and outreach on social media where several students and their parents have active presence.
Schools in Delhi were closed for 10 months in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic, with in-person classes for Class 10 and 12 students starting on January 18. The schools have been asked only to call students with the consent of the parents and follow all the Covid-19 precautions. On February 5, schools were opened for classes 9 and 11.
“The agency will be entrusted with spreading information through social media platforms, manage the social media handles, profiles and pages for the education department, digital media management, writing and posting blogs about schools, colleges and education policies, do info-graphics, generate videos, design social media campaigns, and engage in fact-checks and generate content against any kind of misinformation,” said the senior official, who did not wish to be identified.
The official further said, “The agency will also be entrusted with using social and digital media to engage with stakeholders on policies apart from aiming to enhance community outreach. The agency should have a good understanding and experience
NEW DELHI:
of engaging with citizens groups, civil social groups and the youth. Schools are reopening after the Covid-19 pandemic and the government needs impactful strategies on the front of communication.”
The Delhi government had floated a tender in this regard on February 5 and the bidding process for the same will close on February 26, read the tender document, which HT has seen.
“The team should have familiarity with keyword placement and other social media best practices, including Twitter trends, hashtags, Lives on Facebook and Twitter and other evolving trends,” the tender document read.
The document further said that the objectives of the project would include ensuring awareness about education policies, real-time response on queries flagged on social media accounts after due consultation with the department, publishing “success stories” concerning the department and government schools, and increasing transparency.
Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia said, “We have to equip our students with 21st century skills. These days even teachers use social media in many ways to learn things from across the globe and implement that in the classroom. Using social media for better communication and outreach is essential at this stage.”