24 July,2020 07:10 AM IST | Mumbai | Pallavi Smart
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With the government insisting on limiting screen time for students studying through the online medium, most parents are more than glad to have their kids study for longer durations online. A recent survey revealed that 69 per cent parents want the government to increase the screen time for online classes.
The survey results came a day after the state government declared class-wise time limits for online learning.
LocalCircles, a social media platform on Thursday declared the results of its nationwide survey regarding online learning.
It was conducted after the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) declared guidelines for online learning. The state government on Wednesday night had issued a GR regarding the guidelines.
The survey also stated that 56 per cent parents of pre-primary children want the duration of online classes to be more than the government limit of 30 minutes and 56 per cent children from Std I to Std V want it to be more than the set limit of 1.5 hours.
For Std VI to Std VIII, 69 per cent parents want the duration of classes to be more than two hours a day whereas 49 per cent parents of children from Std IX to Std XII want the duration to be more than the limit of three hours a day.
A deeper view of parents' expectations revealed that 18 per cent parents want the daily limit of classes for Std XI to Std XII to be five hours, for Std VI to Std VIII to be four hours, and Std I to Std V to be three hours. Pre-Primary kids' parents want their learning to be an hour daily. For Std IX to Std XII, 31 per cent said, the daily limit should be four hours.
Akshay Gupta, general manager of Local Circles, said, "The survey was conducted to understand parents' expectations. The findings are an eye-opener, especially when there has been a debate over the increased screen-time of children amid the pandemic. Parents, however, say that in the case of pre-primary children, the 30 minutes are mostly spent in settling down the kids in front of a screen."
A deeper view of parents' expectations revealed that 18 per cent parents want the daily limit of classes for XI to XII to be five hours, for classes VI to VIII to be four hours, and classes I to V to be three hours
Priti Shirali, an Andheri resident and parent, said, "Additional online class will mean that the child is kept busy because the parents too have to be present with the child to ensure responsible use of gadgets and internet along with effective learning."
Swati Popat Vats, president of Early Childhood Association said, "Hours should not be increased just to suit the parents' demands. Sometimes these demands are also in relation with the fees paid. Quality of education can be acquired with a balance of online learning with interactive screens as well as activities to follow after it."
The sample size of the survey was 21,322 and the respondents were from major cities in India including Mumbai (which had over 4,000 participants).
Schools will be allowed to hold 30 minutes online sessions daily (Monday to Friday) with parents from pre-primary classes.
For Std I and Std II, schools will be allowed to hold two online sessions of 30 minutes each wherein 15 minutes will be for parents' guidance and 15 minutes for activity-based learning for children. Going forward, for Std III to Std VIII, schools can hold two online sessions of 45 minutes daily and for Std IX to Std XII, four sessions of 45 minutes daily each can be held for online learning.
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