Less than 24 hours after unaided schools in Gujarat put online classes on hold, Vijay Rupani-led BJP government announced on Thursday that it will star online classes for students.
Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama announced that the education department will offer online classes to students of Class III to XII.
Akhil Gujarat Rajya Shala Sanchalak Mahamandal, an association that has management and trustees of schools on board, had announced the decision to stop online classes after the state government directive that asked the unaided schools not to collect fees from students as long as schools do not reopen.
Chudasama said the state government cannot remain a mute spectator in such a situation. The education department has been asked to hold talks with education board officers to set the ball rolling. Through Doordarshan channels, online education will also be imparted to English medium students.
However, it is not clear from the official communication of the state government whether the online classes will also be held for CBSE students. Replying to a question in this regard, Vinod Rao, secretary, primary and secondary education, told THE WEEK that the modalities are being worked out.
In the wake of the restrictions imposed in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, the state government is already providing online education through television channels to Gujarati medium students from Class IX to Class XII.
Naranbhai Patel, president of the Mahamandal, claimed that more than 90 per cent unaided schools did not hold online classes on Thursday. He said they are ready to hold talk with the government to find a solution.
However, those in the know-how of the developments feel that the task of offering classes won't be easy as teaching patters differ from school to school.
Apart from directing schools not to take fees until schools reopen, the state government had also directed them not to increase the fee for the academic year 2020-21.
The Gujarat High Court had recently asked the state government to work out some modalities with the schools regarding fees.
Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi alleged that the current crisis is the result of the inept handling of the situation by the state government. He said if the state government wanted to start online classes, it should have done it three months ago.
Doshi also alleged that the state government failed to prevent several schools from collecting fees from the parents.
