Srinagar: With the start of the new academic session, the private schools have started overburdening the students with long duration of online classes.
The students are given only 10 minutes break in more than three hours of classes.
The parents said that the timetable framed by the schools would take a toll on the health of the students.
They said that the students were spending more time on screens that had ill effects on their eyesight.
Many parents said that the schools schedule one online session for more than three hours which adversely affects the health of their wards.
As per the timetable framed by one of the private schools, the students have to remain glued to laptops or mobile screens from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm with a break of only 10 minutes.
“If the students have to spend the entire day on screen then it is better to reopen their schools for offline classes,” said Muhammad Ameen, a parent from Srinagar.
During normal days, the students attend classes from 10 am to 3 pm with a break of half an hour.
Surprisingly, the timetable framed for online classes of students is almost similar to what was followed in a routine before the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The schools should differentiate between the routine timetable and the timetable framed for online classes. For online classes, the students have to spend a lot of time on screen,” Ameen said.
The parents have been complaining about the long duration of online classes since last year after the schools shifted to online mode of education due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“After finishing one class, our children complain of headache and other ailments. Their eyesight is also getting affected because they remain glued to screens for a long duration,” said Muhammad Sadiq, another parent.
The parents said that the schools should frame a proper schedule and take short duration classes which would be a relief to the students, particularly the students of primary classes.
“During normal days, the duration of a class is 40 to 45 minutes and the schools have kept half-hour duration of each class and each student has to attend six classes every day,” he said.
Last year, the School Education Department had issued an advisory for private schools, directing them not to take regular online classes of long duration, citing its ill effects on the health of children.
The private schools were asked not to rush through the syllabus by sending videos in large numbers and holding long-duration classes through Zoom or other apps.
“But this year, the schools have again framed a timetable for the entire day with no break for students. The department should take note of the issue and schools should frame the timetable as per the convenience of the students,” Sadiq said.
Principal Secretary, School Education Department, Bishwajit Kumar Singh told Greater Kashmir that the schools should provide a break of 10 to 15 minutes to students after every class.
“Otherwise the students will have to concentrate on screen for a prolonged time which will prove detrimental to them,” he said.
Singh said that the issue would be looked into and schools would be directed to frame timetables as per the convenience of students, considering the ill effects of the prolonged screen time.