E-learning: As schools reopen, EWS students struggle to keep up
NEW DELHI: School teachers in Delhi have pointed out that students from the Economically Weaker Society (EWS) are facing many issues with the new mode of learning and are unable to attend classes. Teachers from both government and private schools pointed out how students from the EWS categorisation do not have proper access to technology and are not able to join online classes.
A senior teacher working at a Dwarka branch of Kendriya Vidyalaya said she had seen only a third of the students attending her class. “While many students are avoiding classes, many students belonging to weak financial backgrounds have not been able to attend the classes, as there might be only one smartphone and no laptop at their homes,” said the teacher who teaches 9th and 10th standards at the school.
The centre-run government school reopened on June 22 and has been conducting online classes since then. According to another teacher at the same school, she has seen a significantly fewer number of students attending classes post the summer vacations. “While important subjects like science and maths are witnessing good attendance, subjects like languages are being ignored. In another case, students have difficulty accessing the internet,” Sonali (name changed) who teaches 11th and 12th standards said.
Meanwhile, classes in private schools started from Wednesday, with teachers saying that even though attendance among general category students is almost full, 98 percent of EWS students are missing out. “I will have to say that it is the general category students who have been able to access online classes and most of the students who belong to financially weaker sections are missing out,” said a language teacher from one of the Delhi Public Schools in the Capital. She said that each section has two to five students from the EWS category.
“We also have limitations when it comes to reaching out to them. Yes, we try our best to reach them in various other ways, but then it gets difficult,” said the teacher.
An ad-hoc teacher from a local school in Janakpuri, who did not want to be named, called out the school authorities for putting pressure on teachers, especially now that the session had started. She also said that almost all ad-hoc teachers from this school have stopped working as they have not been paid salaries since March. The teacher at DPS said that they are trying to accommodate all students and they themselves are facing a pay cut. Meanwhile, to help EWS students, the Centre-run Diksha channel has started. “For students who cannot access online classes, videos are uploaded on Youtube, while each class also gets a slot on the television where classes take place. The students can access that,” said a teacher from Kendriya Vidyalaya.