In a bid to help students compensate for the academic loss due to the lockdown, the Bihar Education Project Council (BEPC) has decided to launch virtual learning for five more classes through the public broadcaster, Doordarshan (DD), from May 4.
With technical support from UNICEF, Bihar, the BEPC has already been running virtual classroom teaching on the local DD channel for classes nine and 10 since April 20, days after the country went under lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus infection on March 24.
As per the new arrangement, BEPC would conduct virtual classroom teaching for the students of classes six, seven, eight, 11 and 12. To facilitate teaching for fresh classes, the BEPC has booked a 3-hour slot, from 9 am to 12 pm.
BEPC programme officer, Kiran Kumari, said the objective of virtual classes was to cover the syllabus of April and May for the students and engage them in academic activities during the lockdown.
“For now, we have booked slots for one month. The classes may be further extended depending upon the lockdown situation”, she added.
Nipurnh Gupta, communication officer of UNICEF Bihar, said they extended technical support in converting study materials of different classes in digital format.
Gupta said, “Analyzing the target audience, television is a better medium for digital classes than mobile in the state. Majority of the students, especially in high school, may not have access to smartphones or parents could not afford additional cost of internet recharge.”
“Those students who have access to smartphones, Unnayan App will be complementary in their online learning as it gives a platform to students to discuss queries and solve doubts with subject experts.”
As per BEPC officials, there are around 75 lakh students enrolled in classes six to 12 in government and government-aided schools across the state.
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