The education department of Maharashtra has decided to use WhatsApp to ensure faster reach of new policies and information on teaching techniques to teachers in remote areas of the state. The department has asked all government-run schools in Maharashtra to create groups exclusively of teachers for this purpose. The primary education department has issued a circular and asked teachers in each taluka of the state to form a WhatsApp group of 100 members each. The details of these WhatsApp groups will have to be provided to the education officer and the group education officer of respective districts.
Briefing about the initiative, Mahavir Mane, Director, Primary Education, said, “The aim is to ensure that we are able to reach out swiftly to teachers residing in the most remote corners with new policies that the government is formulating. Rather than waiting for days for government circulars to reach schools, we can provide such information directly to teachers through WhatsApp.”
However, Mane informed that joining such groups was not mandatory. “We are not expecting every teacher in the state to join. Those who do not have phones can’t do so. However, the idea is that even if one school teacher from a particular place joins, he can then pass on the information to other members of his school,” he added.
