MUMBAI: As schools in the city go fully offline after two years from Wednesday, parents continue to demand simultaneous online classes.
While a decision on doing away with the hybrid mode in educational institutions across the state is awaited, BMC has allowed pre-primary to class 12 in the city to adhere to full attendance in physical classrooms. In Mumbai, the hybrid mode was allowed from last October.
Schools and junior colleges, while asking students to return to full-time offline mode, have not shut down the online option for the remaining academic year. “We will continue with the hybrid mode for primary and secondary students. For classes 8 and 9 we have made attendance compulsory,” said the principal of a Goregaon school. Students in the hybrid mode will take online exams while HS students will write physical papers,” said the principal.
Parents are resisting the 100% offline mode as the academic year is coming to an end. “Parents who haven’t paid fees do not want to send children to school. While we will keep the online option on, we still have to take a decision on virtual exams,” said the principal of a Mulund school.
Some schools have decided to switch between online and offline for all students. “We will conduct two days of offline and three days of online classes . Full-time physical attendance will resume from the next session,” said the head of a Sion school. “This year, the emphasis is not on attendance. We are asking parents to let children experience schools,” said a teacher.
Junior colleges, however, are not giving the online option. “The finals will be held offline and students have to attend physical lectures,” said a Kandivli college principal.
