News Analysis India

Tag: Jharkhand schools

  • Jharkhand lockdown relaxations: Sunday restrictions lifted, students of VI and above can go to schools

    Express News Service

    RANCHI: As the cases of COVID-19 showing a decreasing trend in Jharkhand, the state government has allowed schools to commence classes for students of Grade VI  and above. Announcing more relaxations to the lockdown (Swasth Suraksha Saptah), all shops will be allowed to remain open on Sundays along with the hotels and restaurants.

    The decision was taken during a meeting of the Disaster Management department headed by Chief Minister Hemant Soren. “Sunday restrictions have been removed completely and all shops and business establishments may remain open from now onwards,” said Health Minister Banna Gupta. Hotels and restaurants have been allowed to open till 11 pm, which earlier were asked to close at 10 pm only, he added.

    The minister said that schools have also been allowed to commence classes for standard VI onwards. The students, however, will be allowed to attend classes only with the consent of their parents, he added.

    In addition to that, the minister said, all religious places have been allowed to open for devotees which certain restrictions. “A maximum of 50 devotees will be allowed to enter in small temples, while in big temples, the maximum limit will be of 100 devotees every hour,” said Gupta. It will be mandatory to take at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine for the priests and other people managing the religious places, he added.

    Gupta said that there will also be a restriction on the entry of devotees below 18 years of age and aggregation of more than 50 per cent of its total capacity at a religious place, he said.

  • In a first, Jharkhand starts radio classes to reach out to children living in rural areas

    Express News Service
    RANCHI: In yet another move to reach out to the children living in remote villages of Jharkhand, the School Education and Literacy Department has now started conducting radio classes. The sessions will be held five days a week in the morning and evening via mediumwave and FM channels.

    According to officials in the School Education and Literacy Department, initially, only 10-minute sessions will be taken which may be extended according to the response from the students.

    Radio classes have been launched in Jamshedpur, Chaibasa on Monday and were gradually expanded to other districts like Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Daltonganj, Hazaribagh and Bhagalpur.

    “Currently, it is being relayed from six radio stations, out of which five are in Jharkhand while one is at Bhagalpur in Bihar so that Santhal Pargana could also get covered properly. The first episode of the day us aired between 9 to 10 am while the second episode is aired in the evening between 5:30 – 6:30 pm. Different time-slots have been fixed for different stations,” said State Programme Officer (Quality Education) at Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC), Abhinav Kumar.

    According to Kumar, the content basically is related to Hindi and English literature, History, Civics, Geography and some topics of science. Chapter-wise contents have been prepared by the school teachers in the form of stories of 8 to 9 minutes which is recorded here in Ranchi studios and aired on radio at a particular time,” said the Project Officer. Only such content has been taken up which are theoretical and could be described in the form of stories, he added.

    “The first episode was aired on Monday which related to freedom fighter Birsa Munda. It was appreciated by students as well as the parents. As of now, the contents are being prepared in generalized form, which could be beneficial for every student right from Class 1 to 12. Gradually, class-specific contents will be developed once the students get habituated to this new form of study,” said Kumar. 

    An agreement of two months has been reached with the radio stations which will be extended further looking at responses from the students as well as their parents. The objective is to reach out to the maximum number of students during the pandemic and get them engaged with the process of learning.

    Teachers also lauded this initiative as radio is said to be a strong mode of communication. They, however, doubted whether the students will get access to radio sets. As per the data available with the state government, over 65 per cent of students enrolled with government schools have no access to the online classes. An official said that only 33 per cent of 42 lakh students have been connected through WhatsApp for online classes in Jharkhand.

  • COVID-19: Jharkhand to shut schools from Wednesday; shops, restaurants to remain closed after 8 pm

    Express News Service
    RANCHI: With COVID-19 cases on the rise in Jharkhand, a decision has been taken to close the state’s schools again from Wednesday. Off-line classes for 10 and 12 students, however, will continue with the prior consent of the parents.

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    During a high-level meeting called by Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Tuesday, it has also been decided that shops and restaurants will remain closed after 8 pm with an exemption to take-away services.

    In an official communiqué issued from Home Prison and Disaster Management Department, it was said the ongoing examinations will not be affected by the order and will continue as usual. “All schools shall be closed and education shall be provided online or by digital content. However offline classes for class 10th and 12th students who shall be taking the board examinations in the year 2021 are permitted. These offline classes shall not be mandatory and students shall attend only with the prior consent of their parents,” said the official communiqué.

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    All Departments and District Administrations have been directed to ensure compliance of the guidelines and directives with effect from 08.04.2021 till 30.04.2021, it said. According to the official release, all parks, gymnasiums and swimming pools shall be closed. It further said that no person without mask shall be permitted entry in any government office, religious place, place of worship, railway station, airport, bus, taxi, auto rickshaw or any other public place like shops etc.