On June 10, Shiv Sena’s student wing Yuva Sena had written to the department urging for a standard set of guidelines after several parents complained that schools were conducting several hours of online classes even for lower classes.

The state Department of Education on Friday recommended that the government found out rules barring schools from conducting online classes for college kids up to Class 2. the advice may be a part of the quality procedure (SOP) that the Department of Education has submitted for the new school year of 2020-21, regulating durations of online classes and can be effective from June 15. The SOP is awaiting the chief minister’s approval.

As per the SOP, a selected number of hours are set for every standard and schools must conduct online classes just for that duration. for college kids of sophistication 3 to Class 5, classes can only be held for an hour each day. for sophistication 6 to Class 8, classes could also be held for 2 hours and for sophistication 9 to Class 12, classes could also be conducted for a maximum of three hours each day. Schools must also ensure students get breaks between classes.

“These recommendations are made after consulting experts and stakeholders including school heads, academicians, social workers etc. Our idea is to usher in some uniformity within the way online education is conducted. We had got several complaints from parents regarding online education,” said state education minister Varsha Gaikwad.

In addition, the department has also proposed phased opening of faculties in areas where there haven't been any reported cases of Covid-19, starting July. Schools can first start Classes 9, 10 and 12 in July; followed by Class 6 to Class 8 from August; and sophistication 1 to Class 5 from September. the ultimate decision about restarting schools in such areas would rest with the local administration as per the SOP. Until schools are asked to reopen, they ought to only conduct online classes.

Parents said that if implemented, the SOP would be an enormous relief to children and fogeys.