The Education Department is awaiting feedbacks from stakeholders whether schools should be reopened.
It may be mentioned that the Union Home Ministry in its Unlock 5.0 Guidelines has allowed reopening of schools from October 15 in a graded manner.
“We are awaiting the feedbacks before taking any decision on reopening of schools in the State,” a senior official in the Education Department said today.
It may be mentioned that the Education Department has written to the Director of School Education asking him to take feedbacks from parents, school managing committees and teachers on this matter.
The school managing committees and teachers have been asked to submit their feedbacks by October 13 and October 14 to the Director of School Education.
Recently, Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui had said that after receiving the feedbacks, the Education Department will take a decision on whether to resume the normal classroom teaching.
Along with seeking feedback from parents and other stakeholders, the State government has also allowed students of Class 6, 7 and 8 to visit schools from October 15 onwards to clear any doubts and seek guidance from teachers. Earlier, such visits were only allowed for Class 9 to 12 students that too only with the consent of their parents.
The Education Department has also released an alternative academic calendar this year with new study plans and reduced syllabus to help the students cope with the burden of their studies after the lockdown is properly lifted. As part of its measures to reduce the academic burden on the students, the department has already curtailed the school syllabus for all the students.
To ensure continuous and minimum levels learning, the Directorate of Educational Research and Training (DERT) has developed the academic calendar for Classes 11 and 12 in close consultation with school teachers and subject experts. The academic calendar will be implemented in all MBOSE schools of Meghalaya for the session 2020-21.
The adjusted academic calendar was developed by Professional Learning Community (PLC) members comprising of school and college teachers from various institutions drawn from different districts of the State.
A review of the MBOSE Arts course content in different subject areas for Classes 11 and 12 was undertaken with a focus on reducing the syllabi load and content by retaining only key essentials. All activities were undertaken under the guidance of the State Resource Group (SRG) comprising of distinguished school leaders, subject experts, teachers, teacher educators, curriculum developers and experienced educational administrators.
The adjusted academic calendar for the higher secondary level focuses distinctly on core competencies, concepts and knowledge areas in the various subjects covered in Classes 11 and 12, including Modern Indian Languages (MIL) and Elective Languages (EL).