We want to ensure there is no disruption to education if there is a 3rd wave of COVID-19 – Kumar

Minister for Education Premila Kumar says if we do have a third wave of COVID-19 or if there are any natural disasters, they want to ensure there is no disruption to education and students can continue learning through other modes.

Kumar says many teachers had to switch to remote teaching very quickly during the pandemic.

She says most of them are not well versed with various digital tools but overnight they learned.

Kumar adds it is a clear indication that in a critical situation, like the pandemic, teachers do become innovative and they have embarked into self-learning.

The Minister says teachers rolled out various teaching programmes where some were using Google Drive, Google Classroom, Zoom, emails, Viber messages and private groups.

Kumar further says their assessment on how the curriculum was rolled out and how teaching and learning took place during COVID-19 shows 52% of secondary school students were learning through online mode and over 70% of secondary school students have some sort of mobile device and most of them are connected to the internet.

The Minister adds they want to create a platform next year where students and parents can connect with the Ministry and share their views on the delivery of the curriculum in classrooms or they can even make some suggestions.