IT News
Imphal, July 27:
Having acknowledge the helplessness of the government for resumption of education due to the overwhelming presence and amoebic spread of the global pandemic, corona virus or COVID-19, the North East Dialogue Forum (NEDF) has urged the government to reconsider the idea of on-line education submitted memorandums to find alternatives giving details about the probable impact.
Memorandums in the regard has been submitted to the Chief Minister and Education Minister of Manipur. Similar memorandums have also been submitted to all the MPs of the North East India urging them to double the budget of the education if not treble. The forum also suggested for review of the teacher students ratio and increase of the school buildings.
“Education means four things as illumination, as an agency of improvement, as physical development and as not merely book learning. … It is physical training, intellectual training, … moral deportment and good manners,” the memorandum stated while defining the meaning of education.
The memorandum further said, “It is now a well-studied and accepted fact that long term and excessive exposure to radiation will produce negative biological and health effects in humans.” (Christian Thomas, Wi-Fi Radiation — Everything You Need To Know. This includes interruption of the brain glucose metabolism, increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier, interruption of cell metabolism, breaks in DNA chains as also fatigue, trouble sleeping, tinnitus, brain fog, chest pain and heart palpitations, skin reactions and others. Further, it is more acute on those aged 18 and below, i.e. School going age.
One may say that online education is within a given and limited time frame per day but who monitors when there isn’t human or person-to-person contact. It is stretchable and flexible timings unless disciplined and uniformed class timings is imposed and ensured. However, who will be guarantor of such an undertaking? Parents? But it is impracticable and debatable, it added.
Moreover, the forum also stated that computer , mobile handset are not afordable for all students.
The NEDF suggested the Union Government to double the Budget for Education from 3 % to 6 % if not treble to 9 % which is still better.
It suggested the to provide two school buildings instead of one since pupils/students will have to be reduced by half the number so as to adhere to social/physical distancing with many sections/streams for one grade/class; and that the he teacher student ratio be reduced by 1 : 20.
Recruitment of double the existing required number of teachers with crash course training on education and providing financial assistance to private schools to accordingly enhance appointment of more teachers and construct more school buildings, are better option than the online class proposal, the Forum added.
