School Education Department To Commence Community Schools For Unreached Students, Issues SOPs

SRINAGAR: With the decline in COVID-19 cases, the School Education Department on Monday said that it will start community schooling for the students who couldn’t reach via online and other modes during the lockdown.

The government also issued guidelines to hold the community schooling.

Director of School Education Kashmir (DSEK) Tassaduq Hussain Mir said that the move was aimed to provide education to the unreached students who were either lacking the smart gadgets or other means to access the online classes.

Meanwhile, DSEK in this regard issued a circular issued on Monday.

“Since all the sectors are opening up gradually in phased manner in view of the relaxations in the further lockdown and it is the high time to think of the education of the children who have not been reached through online means during the lockdown due to one or another reason,” MIR said.

The circular also reads that the administrative department has directed to go for community based schooling for those children who were left out in the online teaching learning either due to lack of mobile connectivity in their area or non-availability of mobile devices that support online learning.

It states that the initiative needs to be carried out with active support of the local community without compromising on prescribed COVID-19 SOPs notified by WHO, government of Jammu and Kashmir from time to time.

“Community classes are arranged by volunteer teachers with active support of willing parents and local community in feasible areas except in red zones and containment zones,” the government said.

With regard to COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), the DSEK said that the threat of the virus was still looming large across the Jammu and Kashmir, therefore community schooling needs to be arranged with utmost care and responsibility keeping all SOPs in place. (KNO)