Post covid MDN edify education making room for ‘Safe Spaces’ in schools

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July 24, 2020

This focus on nurturing emotional connections, as well as protecting mental health is also reflected in the considerations and accommodations built into our strategies for blended learning, says Dr Gaurav Muradia, Director, MDN Edify Education Pvt. Ltd. & DRS International School, Hyderabad in a conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).

Even as our inboxes and newsfeeds are filled every day with apocalyptic projections reimagining how the post-lockdown school setting will be like, here at MDN Edify Education Pvt. Ltd., we have embraced the complexities and challenges this crisis poses as a unique pedagogical opportunity to revisit the true essence of learning and teaching.

Without doubt, at the heart of cognition and learning, as the theorist Piaget noted, is our ability to adapt by assimilating and accommodating our mental frameworks to new scenarios and contexts so that we constantly refine and build on our understanding of the world. Seen this way, the COVID-19 pandemic, and its ramifications for schools, is a learning assignment- albeit one, whose kind and scale we have never seen before.

Also read: New normal for schools post Covid – 19

This learning assignment calls for accelerated professional development for educators and school leaders alike. There is an urgent need to tap into the socio-emotional power that learning holds. Learning and teaching can be the glue that holds together communities through this difficult time, by modelling resilience and providing young learners with the emotional and intellectual tools they need to navigate uncertainty, adapt to change of an unprecedented scale, and thrive using new modes of exploration and learning that the ‘new normal’ calls for.

MDN Edify Education is currently offering a host of initiatives to support our rapidly expanding network schools across India in safeguarding the health of their learning communities as they plan their exit from the lockdown. The launch of a dedicated ‘Manual of Prevention and Protection Procedures’, spanning domains such as the sensitization of stakeholders, considerations for transportation, management of common spaces and high-contact surfaces and amenities, the conduction of meetings as well as the in’s and out’s of classroom reorganization was one of the first steps taken in this direction. This collection of well-thought-out Standard Operating Procedures not only inform our school leaders in planning for a smooth transition in terms of logistics and administrative planning, but also provides sound guidance on monitoring the mental health & well-being of students in the months to come. From offering insights into creating safe spaces for discussing health anxiety and related concerns, to the development of tools to help learners recognize the symptoms of stress and manage them with the aid of healthy coping mechanisms and even an array of self-care techniques- the manual emphasizes the need to address all dimensions of well-being- not just the ones that concern physical health.

This focus on nurturing emotional connections, as well as protecting mental health is also reflected in the considerations and accommodations built into our strategies for blended learning and continuity planning for academics. As schools iron out the kinks in staggered schedules, designated drop-off points, contactless marking and alternate-day teaching, it is also vital to look beyond the structures and matrixes of schedules to consider providing time for students with teachers and peers for reflection, sharing and rapport-building. While social distancing is here to stay, we can be savvy and foresighted in planning for meaningful interaction and collaboration that respects the boundaries of individual space and even carefully planned seating charts.

The bottom-line is that safeguards and prevention procedures are essential and vital, but we must keep the myriad needs of our learners in mind as we cross off our checklists, and wield our thermal scanners. Let’s make sure there are friendly faces to greet our students at the end of every disinfection tunnel and hope that, like all learning assignments, this too brings us some unforgettable lessons!

Post covid in school safety measures and precautions

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July 24, 2020

The necessity to evolve and adapt to changes wherein virtual classrooms and online learning has become a new normal says Geetika sethi, Director-Principal, The British School in a conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).

School education is one of the core sectors that will be drastically impacted by the outbreak of Covid -19. Thus, the necessity to evolve and adapt to changes wherein virtual classrooms and online learning has become a new normal. Towards this end I am happy to inform you that The British School Panchkula adapted with a fast pace and crystallised an innovative mode of imparting online education to its valued students by aggressive use of various digital tools/platforms available via Zoom App , Google forms, Teacher connect etc. I really appreciate the positivity displayed by the students and teachers of our school in adapting to the changed tutoring methodology to include online teaching, online practice programs/reviews and posting of relevant videos and media content.

We all are eagerly looking forward to go back to normal classes at school premises on lifting of lockdown by the Government in near future. We fully appreciate the anxiety of parents with respect to safety of their wards once the students will again start attending the school. Herein I will like to assure all parents/guardians that post Government clearance your ward will be in safe hands at the British School wherein due attention and care will be taken in enforcing preventive/ precautionary measures such as:

Also read: Santhosh Ram Chary: COVID-19 can make e-learning go viral

• Screening of students, teachers and other staff at entry points. No sick person will be permitted to attend the school.

• Strict adherence to social distancing norms.

• Enforcing regular washing of hands with soap and water and use of Alcohol based hand sanitizers.

• Periodic disinfection of school premises.

• Maintenance of high standard of hygiene and sanitation in school premises.

• Institution of regular cleaning and decontamination procedure

I also assure you that due procedures will be instituted for catering uninterrupted tutoring of students who are not able to attend school owing to sickness or any other unavoidable reason. For ensuring their quality education following measures will be taken:

• Assigning teachers to conduct daily online curriculum and weekly follow up of students

• Practice and review of subjects covered by online means

Any student, teacher or staff member who has availed leave on account of health issues will only be allowed to rejoin school on production medical fitness certificate from registered medical practitioner.

Safety of students during transit will also be ensured by way of adherence to under mentioned measures:

• Regular medical screening of school van drivers and support staff.

• Disinfection and sanitation of vehicles twice a day.

• Enforcing well spaced sitting arrangement in school vans and wearing of face masks by everyone

• Rescheduling pickup and drop of students travelling by school vans for obviating congestion

• Body temperature screening of students before pickup

I assure The British School will not leave any stone unturned in providing best possible educational and emotional support to the students. Special sessions by experts to uplift the morale and confidence of teachers and staff have also been planned for. The British School management is looking at the challenge in hand with a positive and optimistic approach and we are committed to come out with flying colours. We all need to stay focused, firm and patient to sail through these trying Covid times with optimism.

Measures school will take posts Covid-19

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July 24, 2020

The school will have staggered arrivals and departures and the students and other members will undergo thermal screening before boarding the bus and hands free sanitizers will be placed for hygiene, says Jyoti Arora, Principal, Mount Abu Public School in a conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).

The guidelines are not clear about re-opening of schools, how Mount Abu is getting ready for it (SOP)?

Looking at the present challenges due to COVID-19 the school has prepared its SOP so that the physical opening of school does not face any problem in the process of imparting education.

The school will have a task force team especially constituted to ensure proper safety and hygiene and will have training of staff for survival skills. Zones will be demarcated as Red, Orange and Green and only that sports will be taken wherein appropriate distance can be maintained among the players In order to avoid commotion ,the school will have staggered arrivals and departures and the students and other members will undergo thermal screening before boarding the bus and hands free sanitizers will be placed for hygiene.The washrooms will be having contact less taps with foot tapping valves.

Mount Abu is one of the decorated schools in the country; what are the plans to continue its legacy?

Mount Abu School believes in imparting quality education the learners to make them capable enough to carry forward the legacy of the school with pride. So the school keeps on emphasizing on the aspect of experiential learning thus making the children learn the concepts so as to keep them in sync with the real happenings of the world. The school keeps imbibing the values among the children so that they carry forward the legacy and make a world with better place with best of humane with real human values.

Also read: Home schooling in Covid-19 times: Dr. Sangeeta Srivastava

A mental stress can be witnessed with the students due to lockdown, how Mount Abu is dealing with it?

Since the times are very challenging so the school took the notice of the circumstances and started getting connected with the students online through different session aimed at motivating them to remain calm and composed and use their energies in a positive way. To maintain the flow of the school routine ,the schools keeps celebrating the events virtually so that the students remain engaged and stay connected.Since it is now NEW NORMAL way of education so we have trained the staff in all the aspects wherein they stay connected with the students all the day.

How virtual classes are different and are they beneficial for students in longer run?

Yes, I would say that this COVID 19 has brought a huge transformation in the education sector .What we never even thought has become the trend .Online classes are surely beneficial for the students .They are able to have flexibility of time and are able to explore more as compared to teaching in the four walls of the classroom .On line classes have opened the doors for better research and have taught the time management skills to a large extent.

Online classes are not the solutions as there is an uncertainty of re-opening of schools, how schools can deal with it.

Online classes are happily welcomed by the students and parents as they know that this is the best medium of staying connected and continuing the learning process .I understand that there is a lot of uncertainty but online classes are the best ways of imparting education as learning should never be hindered by any obstacles.

School education in India post Covid era

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July 24, 2020

Using technology as a learning medium will definitely prove to be more effective than the traditional method of using books and charts for illustrational purposes. Detailed report by Pankaj Samantray of Elets News Network.

F rom last three months, there is an uncertainly looming over the education sector across the globe. The schools in India are closed from mid-March. Before COVID-19 disrupted lives and forced children to open laptops and learn from home, the first day of schoolwas the start of a life-determining journey for many.

From kindergarten to year 12, classrooms are run by teachers who deliver lessons that start and end with a bell.

They set tests, watch over examinations, and give marks that delight, disappoint, or even surprise parents.

This one-size-fits-all approach to education has been in place for a couple of hundred years. The response to the coronavirus has demonstrated how technology can help transform how we teach and learn. But the push for change started long before the pandemic struck, and it will go on long after the threat subsides.

Also read: Punjab govt cancels class 10th exams over COVID19

For years, policymakers have been exploring new transformative approaches to K-12 education that go far beyond just online lessons at home.

As lockdowns ease and schools will start to re-open after few days, it’s as good a time as any to take stock and look at the likely future of education.

Children who will start school will grow up to be future leaders a digital-first world that will demand new skills and new ways of thinking.

To succeed in life and at work, they will need all the social, emotional, and academic support they can get via rich and flexible learning experiences that will differ vastly from the schooldays of their parents.

Education’s age-old three Rs – Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic – are being joined by a fourth: Rethink.

New data-based technologies are opening up ways to transform practices, structures, and even cultures in schools.

Personalized learning is a holistic approach that must do more than only focus on academic progress.

It will also help teachers stay on top of, and adjust to, factors that affect social and emotional well-being. Teachers will be able to ensure students feel inspired, safe, valued, and able to learn in ways previously not possible.

New learning tools will also be able to adjust to the needs of individual students – without instructions or intervention from their teachers.

It would be like one of those virtual ten teachers turning up the brightness of a screen without bothering to tell the teacher. The smarter the technology gets, the more the teacher is supported and empowered.

In India, traditional teaching practices are still not changed at many remote and underprivileged places where having a school itself is like a luxury. Classrooms with minimum facilities and premises with basic hygiene are like a challenge faced by the school authorities every year. At these circumstances, affording a technology friendly learning environment is like a mammoth task. E-Boards, smart classes and digital teaching equipment like AV screens or projectors look like a long lost dream for such children. The Indian government does provide grants every year for such schools. Yet getting technology into the scene will take a good amount of time.

The schools in the cities, on the other hand, are now emerging into better than the best institutions with the rise of techno-friendly learning platforms coming into existence. Blackboards are replaced by projectors and post-school tutoring has been replaced by learning apps that are extremely user-friendly and gives an in-depth knowledge about a topic via various perspectives and theories. Learning is no more a straight path. It is not a royal highway with many deviations leading to the success destination.

There are certain pros and cons of technology usage in schools:

Pros:

-Using technology as a learning medium will definitely prove to be more effective than the traditional method of using books and charts for illustrational purposes. The colourful visuals tend to stay in their minds for longer than the printed, stagnant material in the books

– It is evident that in today’s world, there is hardly any job or a career that does not require any usage of technical jargon or technological stuff. A kid who can operate a PC easily today could perform better during his days of becoming a Software Engineer, or a child who grows up looking at better educational AV visuals turns out to be a great dreamer

-Technology gives wings for their imagination and prepares them for an obvious tomorrow which includes the compulsion of using smart gadgets.

Virtual classroom

-Inclination towards technology could prove a costeffective way of learning. Spending less over books and updating the technological application will for sure go lite over the parents’ pockets. Each year parents spend a good amount of money over the books which are perishable and difficult to carry

Con:

-Affordability of stuff can pinch the pockets of those parents for whom affording quality education for their children itself is a challenge. The below poverty income group crowd, who can barely afford books admission, can only see technology aided learning as an impossible dream.

-Technology brings in a lot of health hazards with it. Each day doctors are recording many of their patients struggling with vision and concentration-related problems which come as an unpleasant gift for loving these gadgets more than required.

-Usage of tablets for studies or for fun can prove very dangerous if not used for a recommended duration.

The young eyes and brains are under constant risk which is a serious concern for parents.

-Tools like auto-correct and spell-check are spoiling the skills of the children to a certain extent. The prominence given to handwritten scripts/assignments is gradually diminishing with the birth of the online submitting provision.

-Virtual classrooms have given a back seat to a good parent-teacher relationship. Things are for sure becoming easy but at the same time it has decreased that zest for listening to a nice lecture from a scholarly teacher who explains a concept of germination the way it has to be and doesn’t just show videos at YouTube or any learning apps as a part of conceptual learning.

In India, the Ministry of Human Resource Development is formulating safety guidelines to be followed whenever classroom learning is resumed. This will also prepare school systems to face such pandemics in the future more efficiently and without prolonged disruption, as well as move towards building a strong public education system in the country. COVID-19 did teach us how schooling is not equivalent to merely learning, but encompasses a social space, a social process, to learn to live, think and act for one’s self and the collective good. In this ‘new normal’, changed behaviour of people and changed centralised norms and guidelines could lead to a situation where forms of governance and participation may change. Virtualisation of teaching may impact the social relation between peers, teachers and school and community on the whole. The social class gap between the teachers and students may widen after the school reopens post-lockdown.

New normal for schools post Covid – 19

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July 24, 2020

We understand that online teaching methodology cannot replace the traditional way of teaching and the students miss that immensely, says Dr. Sandeepa Sood, Principal of Saffron Public School in a conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).

Being the Principal of Saffron Public School I have already started working on the re-opening process of the school by creating a professional blueprint on the massive changes being made in the school.

I am regularly going to the school and working towards revamping the whole structure keeping social distancing and the security and hygiene of the students and staff as a priority. Since the lockdown has started, the teachers of Saffron Public school are diligently taking online classes for their students and helping them with syllabus completion, assessments, assignments and doubtclearing sessions. I and my teachers are in regular contact with the parents, motivating them to coach their children and also taking constant feedback from them regarding the online classes.

More than the academics, I have worked immensely hard towards the upkeep of the mental health of students. We have promoted the conduction of psychometric tests, counselling sessions and one-to one- coaching for many students as per their needs and requirements.

Also read: Higher Education in the times of COVID-19

We understand that online teaching methodology cannot replace the traditional way of teaching and the students miss that immensely. They miss the interaction with their teachers and want to start coming to school like before. Despite the fact, that all efforts have been made to provide excellent and technologically updated education to all students, but just the feeling of coming to school, meeting friends, sitting in a class and studying is badly missed by all.

We don’t have any idea for how long the pandemic will continue and by when can we see the happy and beautiful faces of our students back in school. But we are preparing for the same. The safety and hygiene of my students and staff is my first priority and we are all making every possible effort to provide the same to them when the schools re-open. We have organised and reset the classrooms keeping social distancing in mind. The tables have been allocated at a distance as prescribed by the physical distancing norms. We will be increasing the number of sections to accommodate all our students of one class in different rooms. The entire school will be properly sanitised, and we will conduct all classes including recreational, yoga and other academic based classes while the students is sitting on that one desk only. They will not be allowed to share meals and a stringent check will be made on the meal breaks, washroom breaks and other activities of all students.

All precautionary measures will be taken to protect the children and to make sure they keep away from each other and maintain social distancing. Even the transport system including buses will be properly sanitised before we star with the pick and drop of our students. We will also give an option to the parents to look after and into the transport system, if manageable.

Additional measures will be taken to boost the immunity of the children and to work on their mental and physical health. The school will be introducing additional yoga classes and rigorous counselling and mentoring sessions with the concerned faculty to deal with any kind of anxiety or depression that the student may face.

HRD Minister: JEE Main 2020 eligibility criteria reduced for NITs and CFTIs

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July 23, 2020

Union HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has notified that Central Seat Allocation Board (CSAB) has decided to relax the eligibility criteria for admission into NITs and CFTIs. According to the revised eligibility, for admission into NITs and CFTIs, JEE Main 2020 qualified candidates are just required to obtain a passing certificate in class 12th exam irrespective of marks secured.

According to JEE Main eligibility criteria till 2019, candidates must have obtained a minimum of 75 percent marks in class 12 or equivalent exam or they must be in the top 20 percentile in their class 12 examination to be eligible for admission into NITs or CFTIs.

Similar to JEE Advanced, the authorities have decided to remove this criteria for 2020 admissions due to the current situation. According to the latest news on JEE Main 2020, the exam will be conducted between September 1 to 6.

Also read: HRD Minister asks students not to worry over JEE Main and NDA dates

It is conducted as a computer based test for two papers – JEE Main Paper 1 for B.Tech/ B.E and Paper 2 for B.Arch/ B.Planning. The marks secured in JEE Main are used for admissions to UG engineering programmes offered by 31 NITs, 25 IIITs and 28 CFTIs. JEE Main latest updates will be announced to the students through nta.nic.in.

📢Attention JEE Main aspirants!
For admissions in #NITs & other Centrally Funded Technical Institutions, apart from qualifying #JEE Main, the #eligibility is to secure a minimum of 75% marks in XII Board exams or rank among the top 20 percentile in their qualifying examinations.

— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) July 23, 2020

Telangana Inter- Education Redefining Junior College Studies

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July 23, 2020

With a revived spirit to lay strong career foundation for the students, Telangana State Intermediate Education Department is taking strategic and innovative approach in teaching, skilling and well-being of students tells Syed Omer Jaleel, Secretary & Commissioner, Intermediate Board and Intermediate Education Department, Government of Telangana in an exclusive interview with Sudheer Goutham of Elets News Network.

What are the preventive measures taken by the Intermediate Education Department to prevent untoward incidents during the announcement of results?

The state govt was particular and didn’t want to repeat last year’s mistakes during result declaration. We created an IT cell to coordinate with the new agency (Centre for Good Governance – A Telangana State Government Agency) that was finalized to develop the evaluation software. Around 24 modules were created for pre and post examination. We even incorporated all the queries of students in the new software. With the new software, all processes went on smoothly.

During the intermediate examinations, Corona Pandemic spread as a huge scare, but we took extra precautions and completed the exams. Even the evaluation of papers we started during the lockdown and completed it within 24 days. We used both the OMR and ICR technology as a two-layer check for the first time. With these two new technologies in place, we were able to provide error-free results.

Please elaborate on the number of students appeared for the exams and the pass percentage?

Over nine lakh students appeared for the exams. For the 1st year, the pass percentage was 60.10 pc and 68.86 pc students passed in the 2nd year exams.

What were the arrangements in place during the examinations in view of the prevailing COVID-19 Pandemic?

During the Corona crisis, all the 1339 exam centres were sanitized on a daily basis. Children were provided with sanitizers, liquid soaps during the exams and children having any symptoms were asked to sit in separate rooms. Post Examinations, we also took precautions in the monitoring and security of evaluation centres with answer sheets for almost two months before the evaluations.

Also read: Vocationalisation is new mantra of the decade: Syed Omer Jaleel

How do you see the education going further in these times of Corona Pandemic and Lock Down? What are the plans, strategies, policies and infrastructure integration in the offing to get things going?

We have lost nearly two months of the coming academic year due to the pandemic. There is uncertainty looming over the admission process. The Corona is here to stay for longer time and to tackle with it we have created some policies and submitted it to the government. We have suggested reducing the number of students at a time by introducing a shift system when the classes will be re-opened. The government is considering all the options and had a meeting with stakeholders.

Considering the Corona crisis, we will think about how to accommodate the students who have cleared the Class 10 exams. There are requisite numbers of seats available in both govt and private colleges.

In our submissions to the government, we suggested the first- year classes can be taken in the afternoon shifts and second year in morning shifts. We have said to combine some classes for first and second-year students. We have also asked the govt to reduce some holidays to cover up the academic time we lost.

We have also submitted that some part of the syllabus must be covered as online assignments to students. Children can assess those materials through any online mode. We are hoping to cover the entire syllabus before end of March 2021.

We will be inculcating innovate technologies for our students which will help them in future.

How is the govt prioritizing skill education for the students at the junior college level? Are the teaching staffs skilled enough and updated?

We have started a training programme for our district education officers and principals of govt colleges. These training programmes in administration have been started from 23rd June and will continue till 4th July, 2020. We are carrying out these training sessions through online mode. The second part of the programme will be skilling them. During this break of Lock Down, we have added all the intermediate content online for students. We have also collaborated with a private agency to carry out online tests. More than 17,000 students are participating and getting ready for competitive exams.

We have tied up with Centurion University to bring in skill education to our colleges. We are developing Centres of Excellence. With the help of Centurion University, we are trying to improve the syllabus and labs. We will be starting new vocational courses this year for students. We have also tied up with the Ministry of Skills and Entrepreneurship, Govt of India to start 10 new vocation courses in the colleges.

In these courses students will be provided with stipend and certificates from Govt of India for taking up the new skilling courses.

The skilling courses are mainly focused on agriculture, engineering, IT and e-commerce sectors.

How are you planning to provide Industry-ready hands-on training to students?

We are trying to collaborate with corporate houses to provide training to our students. There will be a student exchange programme with Centurion University also. We have even tied up with hospitals to provide training to our students. In the coming days, there will also be campus selection of sorts happening in the intermediate level also.

The board will be creating one centre of excellence this year. We will be improving our labs in the coming days.

What is the current status of counseling programmes started last year for social and mental well being of student? How is it going to be sustained in future?

Last year, 27 students committed suicide. The govt ensured that such incidents must not happen and special focus was given on social and mental well-being of students. To prevent such cases, we identified student counselors. We provide them two-day training on how to deal with students. It was a successful programme.

Just before the exams, we identified clinical psychologists and notified their names and contact details in newspapers. They received over 5000 calls after the exams. The psychologists discussed their issues and tried to calm them. We are even developing a programme for counselors.

In the coming days, we will be introducing more skills, technologies, and improving the system, so that children will not get stressed out. There will be classes on T-SAT regularly. In the coming days, there will be less number of students failing. We are trying to reduce the stress of students during exams.

Safety and hygiene will be our priority

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digitalLEARNING Network

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July 23, 2020

The school will have a task force team especially constituted to ensure proper safety and hygiene and will have training of staff for survival skills, says Jyoti Arora, Principal, Mount Abu Public School in a conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).

COVID 19 has revolutionized the education sector with the advent of online teaching, which otherwise had been a wild dream. These challenging times have made every educator take the best of opportunity to make the learning environment regular and smooth .I strongly feel that the strength lies in the faculty and institute nurture. Faculty need to change their mundane teaching methods and adapt to evolving technology-centred teaching. The faculty will have to establish themselves as “competent” individuals who can deliver what the students expect.

We are happy to see that we are successfully dealing with the COVID times through online sessions for the students, so now the challenge before everyone is the Post COVID learning when the schools physically open for the learners .In view of the upcoming challenges post covid ,the school has designed its SOP for post COVID challenges so that the students learning goes on smoothly with all the safety measures .The school will ensure the adherence to norms of social distancing according to the orders by Health Department in the school.

Also read: Special training on safety, hygiene for mid-day meal staff, teachers

The school will have a task force team especially constituted to ensure proper safety and hygiene and will have training of staff for survival skills. Zones will be demarcated as Red, Orange and Green and only that sports will be taken wherein appropriate distance can be maintained among the players.

In order to avoid commotion ,the school will have staggered arrivals and departures and the students and other members will undergo thermal screening before boarding the bus and hands free sanitizers will be placed for hygiene .The washrooms will be having contact less taps with foot tapping valves. Moreover the school will be run in shifts for all the classes and SOP must be implemented seriously and monitored and supervised by the authorities regularly. The school will also have a quarantine zone to handle the cases, if any.

A school is not paradise. But school is a place where paradise can be created”. It continued in the same vein with the thought, “The classroom with all its limitations, remains a location of great possibility” so the classes will be held with class wise division of students for50 PERCENT offline and 50 PERCENT online classes so that every student gets benefit at large . The whole building will be sanitized once the children and staff are inside the premises.

So I would say that nothing is so tough that it cannot be accomplished .We, as educators, are trained to grab everyopportunity to make the best use of it especially when it is the question of our young learners who are our future leaders. In fact, I should say that real success in life does not come to you by following the already set trend ,rather it comes to you when one thinks out of the box and avail the best chance to make the existing system run smoothly. So Post-COVID Teaching learning techniques is yet another discovery which will surely bring a new transformation in schooling but will also benefit the future generations.

Someone has rightly said that “In a world where knowledge is a mouse-click away, the role of the educator must change too.

UGC: 603 Universities to conduct final year exams

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July 23, 2020

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has come up with a fresh list of universities which have either conducted the final year examination or is planning to hold it. The exams will be help under UGC exam-related guidelines issued on July 6. As per the UGC, 818 universities have shared their feedback and out of this 603 have either conducted the examination or are planning to.

The UGC has issued a statement on the response it has received from the universities on conducting of final-year or final-semester examination. Earlier this month, on July 6 UGC issued revised exam-related guidelines asking universities to compulsorily hold the examination by September end. The UGC guidelines for intermediate semester students allow this but for final-year students, exams were made compulsory.

Universities were asked to inform the status of the conduct of examination, till July 22 it has received responses from 818 Universities.

Also read: Delhi HC asks UGC to clarify over final year exams pattern

According to UGC, out of the 818 Universities, 209 have already conducted the examination in online or offline mode, while 394 are planning to conduct the examination in an online, offline or blended mode in the month of August and September.

Last week also UGC issued similar statements based on responses from 640 Universities, where it stated that 454 Universities have either conducted the examination or are planning to conduct. It also stated that 177 universities are yet to decide on the conduct of the examination.

Gujarat Govt asks private schools not to collect fees from students

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July 23, 2020

In the light of Coronavirus epidemic, Gujarat State Government has asked the private schools not to collect the tuition fee from students. The government has also asked the schools not to increase the fee for the 2020-21 academic year.

In a notification released, the state education department mentioned that none of the schools will expel students from classes 1 to 8 or not depositing the tuition fee during the lockdown period, and doing so is a violation of Section 16 of the Right to Education Act. Students will also not be expelled for not depositing the tuition fee until June 30 as per the order of the Gujarat High Court.

The HC has also asked the state government to work out modalities with private schools with regard to the fee. The directive was issued by the HC as per a PIL filed seeking a direction to private schools not to charge fees other than tuition fees and not increase the fee for the 2020-21 academic year.

Also read: Gujarat govt asks private schools not to hike fees

The State Fee Regulatory Committee, according to the education department will be taking into consideration the actual expenditure incurred by the schools on the salaries of the teachers during the lockdown under Section 10 of Gujarat Self-financed School (Fee Regulation) Act, 2017. The tuition fee paid in advance by the parents will have to be adjusted in further by the schools, the department further added.

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