Deepkamal Kaur
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, December 31
With mutations of the virus surfacing and fears on the boil again, schools in the state are expected to run on online mode for another six months or so and parents are mulling homeschooling, especially for the tiny tots.
Many parents of 3-year-olds did not get them admitted in the playway schools last year as coronavirus struck right at the time admissions were to start. The parents said that they were happy with their decision as they got ample of time to spend with their child and make them learn all the basic things expected of their age at home, including counting, doodling, singing rhymes, identification of colours, alphabets, numbers, fruits, vegetables and common things around.
Supreet Uppal, who opted for homeschooling for her 3-year-old daughter, said, “I had all the plans to send my little one to school from April onwards but the lockdown happened and I put off the plans. But in the meantime, I started homeschooling her, spending an hour daily. Now, she is able to even write a few letters and make some drawings. I even used downloaded some activities from the net on daily basis for her to work on. Since it was just the beginning year of her education, I do not think that she has missed much. If things go the same way, she may not get admission till July as I do not want onscreen education for her at this stage”.
Even those who got them admitted rued that the online classes did not solve their purpose, which was to train them in sitting properly and attentively, learning early lessons of discipline and getting along with kids of their age groups. Ridhima, mother of a pre-nursery kid, said, “I had thought that I would reserve three-four hours for myself as my child would go out to school. But this did not happen. Instead, I also got tied with him as his playway school insisted that at least one parent should attend class at a time. There were so many activities that we had to perform with him which ideally the teachers were to do. I felt it would have been better had I gone into homeschooling.”
Even the school authorities are wary that the increasing trend of homeschooling could affect their admission in pre-primary classes. “Yes, we are expecting a fall in admission for nursery and kindergarten as most parents can foresee that the classes would run online for this age group for at least next six months or so. We cannot predict the efficacy of the vaccination and its availability. Most parents want their kids to remain safe and at home”, said Ritu Kaul, Principal of Delhi Public School. Likewise, Principal of Innocent Hearts School Rajeev Palival, too, hinted that there could be a decline in admissions at pre-nursery and nursery levels.
