Centre recommends cap on screen time for online classes

NEW DELHI: Schoolchildren in Classes 1-8 should spend no more than two teaching sessions of 30-45 minutes each in a day and those in higher classes must have only four 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) pandemic has shut schools around the world.

The guidelines—which are not binding but are likely to be adopted by schools affiliated to the Central Board of SecondaryE) and Kendriya Vidyalay as—are meant “to mitigate the impact of the pandemic” on the roughly 240 million children as schools stay shut to reduce the risk of infection. The document notes that schools will need to “re model” 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 should not be made to sit in front of screens for over 30 minutes while children of Classes 1 to 8 should not 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 focus on the consolidation of learning. Plan the interventions keeping in mind students’ level, age, resource availability, nature of content, etc ,” the guidelines suggest.Rather than relying too much on teaching in front of screens, schools have been asked to focus on the alternative academic calendar, 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 PR AG YA TA, have been developed from the perspective of learners.