Page 56 - EducationWorld June 2020

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Cover Storyover Story

Kiran Bir Sethi an initiative #dfcconnect, to get
Founder, Design for Change children from different parts of the
world to share their anxieties and
n alumna of the prestigious optimism. We have initiatives from
National Institute of Design, Spain and South Africa on ‘mind-
AAhmedabad, Kiran Bir Sethi fulness’ and ‘course to action from
is promoter-director of the Riverside young adults’ as immediate respons-
School (estb.2001) and founder of es to serve communities in this time
Design For Change (DFC), a co-cur- of crisis.
ricular experiential learning pro- Major challenges confronting K-12
gramme which encourages class III-
X children worldwide to design and education in the new Covid-19 era.
This is the first time 1.5 billion
implement socio-economic develop-
ment programmes in their school children are out of school worldwide.
Though education has transitioned
neighbourhoods. Since its launch in be greater collaboration between
2009, DFC has attracted participa- to blended learning, online is not a schools. For instance in Ahmedabad,
substitute for learning in conven-
tion from 25 million children in 72 we have a coalition of schools to
countries around the world. tional classrooms. Moreover, only 8 support and learn from each other.
percent of children have access to the
Riverside and DFC Covid-19 re- Internet in India. This is a big chal- Third, there should be fluidity in
education to remove any kind of
sponse. At Riverside, we quickly lenge and we need great creativity in
embraced the online medium to our response to this crisis. imagined or perceived boundaries, in
terms of people, time or expertise.
ensure learning continuity for all Fees waiver/deferment circulars.
our children. In less than ten days, Future plans. In our journey for-
our teachers put together an on- The debate on government circu- ward, Riverside School would like to
lars is not a battle on who’s right or
line learning programme featuring become a digital savvy and collabora-
selected modules and designed a wrong. Offering relaxations is a wise tive institution. Ditto DFC. Current-
move. It is important to be sensitive
balanced curriculum incorporating ly, DFC India is working with Unicef
self-directed learning and parental during this crisis. to introduce social-emotional learn-
involvement. Top 3 proposals for reviving K-12 ed- ing skills in government schools.
DFC has also responded amaz- ucation in India. The first imperative We plan to continue sharing our
ingly to the Covid-19 pandemic. Our is intensive digital literacy training resources with all who can benefit
partner in Singapore has started for teachers. Second, there should from collaborating with us.
A.K. Pansari low bandwidth. Another challenge is adapting
Founder-chairman, Royal Group of Institutions, online learning for children in early childhood
Guwahati education.
n alumnus of Gauhati University and On fees waiver/deferment circulars by state gov-
chartered accountant, Dr. A.K. Pan- ernments to private school managements. The
Asari is founder-chairman of the Roy- guidelines related to fees payment issued
al Group of Institutions (RGI, estb.2009) by state governments are fair to parents as
comprising the CBSE-affiliated day-cum- well as private schools. Most schools have
boarding Royal Global School (RGS) and abided by these circulars and have waived
Royal Global University (RGU) which have some amount of fees. In our case Royal Global
an aggregate 4,225 students mentored by School has strictly followed the fee waiver or-
302 teachers on their muster rolls. der of the Assam state government.
RGI Covid-19 response. Without wasting time, the Royal Top 3 proposals for reforming K-12 education in India. First,
Group of Institutions has made a swift transition to digital once schools reopen there’s urgent need to blend con-
teaching-learning with our teachers and students quickly ventional classroom with online learning. The lockdown
adapting to new online platforms and pedagogies. There- period has shown that online learning can supplement
fore, not only is learning being delivered online, we have face-to-face teaching. Second, school curriculums should
also interviewed prospective new students, completed the promote projects-based learning rather than rote, and in-
admission process virtually and conducted online parent corporate skill-based subjects. Finally, the focus of educa-
teacher and staff meetings. tion should be on developing happy, rather than merely
intelligent children.
Major challenges confronting Indian K-12 education in the Covid
era. The technology barrier is the major challenge confront- Future plans. We have drawn up a blueprint to promote the
ing K-12 schools in the Covid era. Unfortunately, the great first international curriculum school in northeast India.
majority of students don’t have access to digital gadgets Second, we are working on introducing paperless educa-
and reliable Internet connectivity. This has severely affect- tion in RGS and RGU. Moreover, we intend to establish
ed delivery of acceptable quality online learning, as classes sport academies to nurture and develop the abundant
often, have to be cancelled or stopped mid-way because of sports and games talent available in northeast India.

56 EDUCATIONWORLD JUNE 2020