ITANAGAR, Jul 23: The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) through its representation to the Education Minister on Thursday has appealed for an alteration to the Education Department’s latest Operational Guidelines issued on July 21 which ask for completion of admission procedure by July 31 and commencement of classes from August 1 through online & other parallel modes like Arun Prabha, Swayam Prabha & Radio programmes by all schools in the state.
AAPSU in a press release issued on Thursday has opined that since the current Covid pandemic has worsened in the state, it will not be rational to stick to the above deadlines and suitable changes are necessary  which will conform to the criticality of the current situation and safeguard the interests of the students. The union while referring to the Education Department’s guidelines which stress on minimum 3 online classes per day each having 40-45 minutes duration through Google Meet or similar platforms, has drawn attention to the on-ground realities where it is not possible for every student in the state to access the digital tools. “Barring some urban centres like Itanagar, Pasighat, Tezu, Namsai etc, most of the areas are sans internet,” the release read, also highlighting the insufficiency of electricity in many districts.  The apex union also expressed its reservations regarding the capabilities of the teachers in carrying out the teaching-learning process with the help of the said online platforms, which as tools are new in the state’s educational landscape.
While placing the demand for extension of admission procedure for three weeks beyond the July 31 deadline, the union has stressed on reaching out to the parents/guardians of the students compulsorily by phone or in person or any other official modes of communication so that admission is not denied to any student at any cost. 
According to the release, the Education Minister in a webinar held on the day which was attended by the AAPSU President Hawa Bagang has assured that online classes should not be mandatory or a criteria for the students to take exams in the near future.
AAPSU has also proposed that as online classes cannot be uniformly implemented across the state, they should be viewed only as a supplementary mode of learning for the students in areas with seamless internet connectivity and electricity, demanding along with that no exams (internal/annual) should be taken by the schools in near future based on online or worksheet mode of teaching.
The union has also expressed its scepticism regarding full compliance of the Covid SOPs in the schools which consequently can jeopardise the safety of both students and teachers. Referring to its earlier demand for devising a proper fee structure for both private and government schools in view of the pandemic, the release rued that no official notification has been issued by the Education Department till date. 
It has also demanded that for the current session, among all fees, only tuition fees should be charged in private schools. AAPSU

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
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