Online classes for kindergarteners as parents worry about longer screen time

Gurugram: While the Haryana government has set a time of July 27 for a phased opening of schools, online classrooms have already started and not just for senior classes but for toddlers and slightly older children in primary and pre-primary grades, raising concerns about the possible adverse effects of long hours of screen time on young children.

With most parents having already resisted the move to not allow their children to attend schools till the city starts recovering from the pandemic, children are having to adjust to long hours of online classes. Most online classrooms for pre-primary and primary students last between four to five hours with a few minutes of break between each session.

"Though I make him attend the online classes, I make sure that he does not have long exposure to the screen, which may affect his health," said Megha Bansal whose son studies in upper Kindergarten.

"There are advantages and disadvantages of holding the online classes. It is a sad reality that for a young student who used to spend five valuable hours in a classroom now is forced to spend those hours in front of the computer screen," said one teacher in a private school here, requesting anonymity.

Online classes have become necessary for school administrations to get enough revenue to be able to pay employees and teachers given the pandemic. Most private schools in Gurugram have a dubious record of charging exorbitant fees. Many parents have now started to allege that the long online classes have become an excuse for the school to continue charging fees.

"As I have already paid the huge admission fee and now I don't want my son to come out of it," Bansal said. Being restricted indoors for over three months has also led to mental and physical health issues for the children but teachers are trying to use several new measures to keep the young students engaged through online classes.

"On our part, we are trying to make sure that there is not too much physical and mental stress on the students as well as their parents," the private school teacher said.

In addition to teaching the subjects, activities like morning assembly and indoor exercises are also being conducted online. With easy accessibility, most schools have also added extra sessions where extracurricular activities for students like singing and cooking are also taught.