Broken Slates and Blank Screens: Education Under Lockdown
Meena Gopal, Teacher and Activist: Report Release and Introduction. The Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties (Maharashtra) emphasizes constitutional commitment of ensuring education as a fundamental right. In the Lockdown on Civil Liberties series, it focus on the impact of the lockdown on education in Maharashtra, particularly its implications for the rights of children and youth.
- Prof Hargopal G , Former Dean, School of Social Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Member, Presidium All India Forum for Right to Education: https://youtu.be/ghqnABhJh4o
- Simantini Dhuru, Film-maker and Educationist . you tube video
Question & Answer Session at the Meeting
Nisha Thapliyal on FB : How are parents reacting to online teaching in government schools?
Aqib Khan : I'm curious to know the views of the speakers on online classes as an opportunity to provide good education to the children living in remote areas or the population still not able to access desired institutions required for better education.
Since quality of teachers been a challenge in public schools specifically in rural India, the shifting (due to pandemic) mode from offline to online classes should be considered as an opportunity. It can be used in schools located in remote areas to provide better education through online classes. obviously better infrastructure supporting online classes is prerequisite
Sangeeta Kamat (SK): It seems we have to include Digital access and WIFI as a basic human right - as a fundamental right, i.e. must be free to all. It should be provided at the municipal and taluka level.
Bhau Gawande (BG) : The policy also says allowing foreign universities to start their branches in India, what will be the effect on under-previlaged??
SK : It seems like the pandemic presents a dream come true for global tech companies like Gates along with domestic elites like Reliance and Jio to dominate and profit from education. With millions who will scramble to access online classes and eventually drop out altogether.
Sunil Dighe : how to counter this corporate onslaught on education now? what is parallel system we can attempt for common people
Abhijeet Sasane : Who would be the custodians of the technology ? ( Ed: Open source models like moodle do exist, but like Android, these are being captured by the “start-up (upstart?) elite..)
BG : What is the way out stopping these profiteering corporate houses entering in the education sector???????
(Ed: Perhaps we have to promote cooperative, small group access approaches, much like the SHG model for women, SHL for Children..)
Low Fee Schools Q & A https://youtu.be/zcrfGvjnZtk
SK : Been wondering what is happening with Low Fee Schools that cater to the working poor in cities? Will the 'too big to fail' corporate chains with MNC investment be the only ones to survive the pandemic, such as Byju's and many other ed-tech delivery systems?
SIMANTINI DHURU : @ Sunil Dighe, Not build parallels. If we send our own children to government schools, check quality of govt schools in our areas, mobilise parents.
Lalitha Ramdas (LR) : One thought for us to examine. Today I sat in on an on line Webex discussion on the NEP with education officers in RAIGAD. It was useful because it indicates that there is a discussion
We should explore possibilities of interventions at these levels.
SB : Factory schools is the next step. Please lets wake up. Already CSR is being sought. KISS Orissa is a case in point.
SD : The criteria for all schools should be what is for the Kendriya Vidylayas/JNVs
Aqib Khan : why there's no advocacy for schools like JNVs ? JNV seems a good schooling system to provide quality education to children from rural India
Nisha Biswas (NB): Your views on Delhi experiment in public school?
Amita Joseph : does low fee schools necessarily mean they are low quality?
Lara Jesani (LJ): A lot of requests for help with fees of students from low fee schools catering to basti students have been made. Some even directly from the schools itself who have approached for help. Very valid point.
SK : I am asking the question about Low Fee Schools from the point of view of what is happening to those kids and their parents - without work, they are being expected to pay fees - and they had already paid up probably this year and got into debt. Thinking about what's going on with the urban poor who had migrated to Low Fee schools? Will they return to the govt school and will this increase enrollment in govt. schools? And the closure of low fee schools on a large scale?
SK : I am asking the question about Low Fee Schools from the point of view of what is happening to those kids and their parents - without work, they are being expected to pay fees - and they had already paid up probably this year and got into debt. Thinking about what's going on with the urban poor who had migrated to Low Fee schools? Will they return to the govt school and will this increase enrollment in govt. schools? And the closure of low fee schools on a large scale?
L R Infact I raised exactly the issue of how they will teach Ancient Indian Culture? And suggested that we should explore using the Constitution as our core source of Values!
While there needs to be a wider engagement and find means of pressurising the govt, we also need to engage at the local levels...it's a long hard struggle
Ashram Schools and Clusters: Q & A at PUCL Meeting on Education under Lockdown
SHIRAZ (SB) : The pandemic provides an opportunity to take a fresh look at boarding schools for Adivasi children and psychological, social and cultural impact. We need to discuss if boardings should be replaced with day schools
Post COVID Education Policy Q & A : https://youtu.be/3LoL2_9buvM
S Sen (SS): Apart from the other aspects, the shift in balance of power in the sphere of education in favour of the Centre to the detriment of the states is, in fact, a part of the larger process of structural transformation the Indian state is undergoing right now. Subversion of the quasi-federal structure in favour of a unitary one is part and parcel of that sinister project.
SS : If the Supreme Court is on one's side the executive is free to do anything it likes.
Lara Jesani : They also brought the constitutional amendment last year bringing in socially and economically backward classes, NEP totally reflects the dilution as a policy matter
SD : in 2018, without much resistance!
Nisha Biswas : NEP makes RTE redundant!
BG : They have bypassed RTE totally in NEP 2020
BG : They call it SEDGs. not S.C.,S.T.??
The real effort seems to do away with reservation!!
Anandpat : Is anyone studying the extent and role of RSS schools
NB : Is there any policy to the schooling of children gone back with migrant parents
From BG : They have proposed the alternative learning centers in the policy for children of migrant parents
This is going to be the bane in tribal development and social welfare schools
Monica Wahi : How should the govt. ensure education for students during this period, given that the pandemic may continue till next summer and beyond? What are the practical steps they can take?
Anandini Dar(AD) : the same can be said to be happening in higher education institutions as well.
AD : we should wary/ reflective of our conceptions of childhood.
Prabha Timare on FB : BMC Model of Multilingual (marathi, hindi, urdu kannada, Tamil, Gujerati even Tulu) school has almost disappeared without any replacement..
Heena Khari : The document mentions about Indian knowledge. How the document defines the Indian heterogeneous knowledge?
PUCL Maharashtra Reports from the Lockdown on Civil Liberties Series-
I. PUCL Maharshtra report titled Imprisoned and Unsafe : Prisoners and the Pandemnow publicly available at -
http://pucl.org/reports/imprisoned-and-unsafe-prisoners-and-pandemic
II. PUCL Maharashtra report titled *The Double Siege - News Media in the Time of Covid* is now publicly available at -http://pucl.org/reports/double-siege-news-media-time-covid-19
III. PUCL Maharashtra report titled *Broken Slates and Blank Screens: Education Under Lockdown* is now publicly available at - http://pucl.org/reports/broken-slates-and-blank-screens-education-under-lockdown
The report raised concern about the impact of screens as a source of education since it deprives children of the practical social education on class, caste, religion, diversity, justice, freedoms. The PUCL questioned the ‘anti-national’ label given to those who opposed ICT education. Recently, the Nagpur Bench said that those who oppose the move towards ICT-based technological solutions would only be doing so with an ‘anti-national’ intent. - https://sabrangindia.in/article/broken-slates-and-blank-screens-pucls-report-education-amidst-lockdown