Parliamentary panel awaits State surveys on learning losses due to COVID-19

The Education Ministry advised a Parliamentary panel on training that it’s nonetheless collating data from the States on learning losses attributable to COVID-19 faculty closures and college students’ entry to digital training throughout the pandemic. At its assembly on Friday, the panel heard displays on using satellite tv for pc know-how to bridge learning gaps as a substitute, members stated.

“Unless there is some assessment of the existing learning losses, and the impact of the activities already being conducted, what is the point of simply listing more activities to be undertaken?” requested one member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports.

“The School Education Department says more time is needed for the States to collect the data [on learning losses]. Hopefully, we will get it by the end of the month,” stated one other member, acknowledging that the Ministry had earlier promised to share such knowledge by the top of June.

With regard to satellite tv for pc know-how, members stated displays have been made by the Indian Space Research Organisation, Prasar Bharati and the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics, which possesses the infrastructure used to beam the Centre’s Swayam Prabha instructional tv channels. School Education Secretary Anita Karwal and Education Department officers from Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar, additionally spoke on how such know-how is already getting used.

One member raised the priority that this was a “top heavy approach”, suggesting that the main target wants to be on making certain group tv units can be found for college kids to obtain this content material in every of the two.6 lakh gram panchayats within the nation.

“Swayam Prabha is not being utilised to its full potential by many States. There is some inertia,” stated one other member.