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Sunday, May 3, 2020

Aarogya Setu App Must For All Private, Government Employees: Centre

Coronavirus Aarogya Setu: The heads of companies will be held responsible if their employees are found without the app

All India Reported by Neeta Sharma, Sanket Upadhyay, Edited by Debanish Achom Updated: May 02, 2020

New Delhi: The Home Ministry has clarified on making the coronavirus tracker app Aarogya Setu mandatory for all private and government employees across the country.

Anyone attending office anywhere should have the app on their mobile from May 4, the day the two-week extended lockdown kicks in, the government has said.

The heads of companies will be held responsible if their employees are found without the app. Everyone in a COVID-19 containment zone will also have to download the app.

Those working from home, however, need not use the app. The centre has set a target of achieving 30 crore app downloads in the next few weeks.

The Aarogya Setu app was introduced as a voluntary one in early April, and has seen massive growth in usage. Its use has been encouraged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and even educational bodies like the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

The Home Ministry's guidelines for the app also say that the authorities will have to ensure that Aarogya Setu app is used by everyone in containment zones. "The local authorities shall ensure 100 per cent coverage of Aarogya Setu app among residents of containment zone," the Home Ministry said in an order.

Some experts have raised privacy concerns over the app. They say the app needs far more data than what is necessary and falls shorts of the standards set by contact-tracing apps of other countries.

Use of GPS-based location data is a major concern, they say. The government think tank NITI Aayog has defended the use of the app and said the GPS data helps in finding new hotspots. It said the location data is not used by the app on an individual basis, but on an aggregated basis.

India recorded the biggest single-day jump of 2,411 coronavirus cases today, taking the total to 37,776, the Health Ministry said. It said 1,223 deaths linked to the highly infectious COVID-19 have been reported so far. Seventy-one deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com

Covid-19: HRD minister releases alternative academic calendar for secondary school students

click here http://ncert.nic.in/aac.html to get the calendars.

Union Human Resource Development minster has released an alternative academic calendar for secondary school students on Saturday, The alternative academic calendar is developed by NCERT to help in keeping the students busy and at the same time maintain continuity of their learning during the lockdown period.

BY: Nandini | Hindustan Times, New Delhi | May 02, 2020

Union Human Resource Development minster on Saturday released an alternative academic calendar for secondary school students. The calendar is developed by NCERT and has been designed for an effective week- wise planning for each subject. The alternative calendar has to be followed by the teachers, students and parents to cover the syllabus during the lockdown.

The alternative calendar will help in keeping the students busy and at the same time maintain continuity of their learning during the lockdown period.

“Schools, Colleges and Universities have been closed. Students are confined to their homes, and so are teachers and parents. Teacher educators, teachers and parents need to find ways to deal with this unprecedented situation arising out of the lockdown in order to engage students meaningfully through educational activities at home. While we are putting in all efforts to flatten the epidemic curve, learning can continue at home too, and the learning curve of children must continue to move upwards. How should this be done? The first thought would perhaps be homework or home assignments. However, the concept of homework is that of a task done individually; moreover, it carries with it the pressure of completion rather than that of joyful learning. Further, as educationists, we prefer not to recommend homework over a long duration for very young children. We have to therefore seek alternative methods,” reads the guidelines given in the calendar for parents, teachers and students.

Informing about the release of alternative calendar for the Secondary school students on Saturday, HRD minister tweeted on the microblogging site Twitter, “My dear Secondary School students, I am releasing Alternative Academic Calender today, for your benefit. During the lockdown period, you can use this calender for week-wise planning, with reference to theme/chapter taken from syllabus or textbook. http://ncert.nic.in/aac.html”

The minister also asked students and teachers to adopt the calendar and learn at home, through mobile, SMS, television, radio or social media.

Earlier, on April 16, the minister had launched an alternative calendar for the primary students. The alternative academic calendar can be accessed from the official website of NCERT.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com

Enhance your net work

A netiquette guide to making online classes engaging and fruitful.

By : Arunabh Singh | New Delhi May 2, 2020

COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdown have changed our lives in unexpected ways. Schoolchildren who a few months ago were negotiating with parents for some extra screen time, often with limited success, now find themselves attending online classes and study sessions for hours every day. Juggling multiple challenges, teachers are using such online sessions to create an environment of learning across varied student age groups, under the watchful eyes of their parents. The success of these sessions depends a lot on observing netiquette, simply put the rules of acceptable behaviour on the Internet. Here are a few tips for students and teachers to begin with.

Be presentable

You may be home, but remember that your teacher and fellow mates can watch you during the online session. So be presentable and sit in a well-lit room. Once you have settled down, avoid shifting positions as this might distract others.

Join before the scheduled start

It’s a good practice to open the session at least 10 minutes before the scheduled start. Teachers can use this as warm-up time, going through the topics of discussion and their study plan. Students can use the time to get their study material and other things in place and settle down.

Do a system check

Before logging in, make it a habit to check that your video and audio equipment are in top working condition. Be sure about using the correct network if you have multiple ones at home. You wouldn’t want tech troubles to interrupt your interactions during the session, right?

Wear a smile

Be courteous and greet others. Your smiling face will have a calming effect on others and help create a friendly environment. Remember to thank everyone before logging out.

Avoid cross-talk

Use the unmute button judiciously. Raise your hand if you want to answer or put across a point and speak only when the teacher gives a go-ahead. This will avoid multiple people speaking simultaneously and ensure discipline.

Speak slowly,

Clearly It is important to speak slowly, at an acceptable voice level, and use clear and precise words to convey yourself. Be conscious never to raise your voice or gesture with your fingers.

Mind your language

The use of obscene language is a strict no-no. Behave in a manner you would want others to with you. While writing anything during the session, do not use all caps as it symbolises a shout.

Keep out needless humour and sarcasm

Both humour and sarcasm, if not understood well, can create unnecessary tension among participants. It is advisable to park aside the lighter notes for face-to-face interactions.

Be credible with your message

Do not try to mislead while responding to a question. It’s human not to know everything, so say you will check and get back with the answer. Grab the first opportunity to acknowledge a mistake and take it as learning.

Respect diversity

Just as in face-to-face interactions, it is extremely important to recognise and respect diversity of thought, experience and background among participants. n

The writer is director of Nehru World School, Ghaziabad

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

No move to do away with pending class 10, 12 board exams; to be conducted at first possibility: CBSE

By : PTI | Apr 29, 2020, 08.35 PM IST

NEW DELHI: The board exams for class 10 and 12 pending due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown will be conducted at the first possibility and there is no move to do away with the remaining exams, CBSE officials said on Wednesday.

The board is prepared to conduct the exams for class 10 and 12 for crucial 29 subjects, while the HRD Ministry has directed states to start the evaluation process for the exams already conducted and facilitate the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in evaluation of answer sheets.

"Recently, there has been a lot of speculation regarding CBSE Board exams. The board's decision to take exams for 29 subjects of class 10 and 12, stands the same. There is no change in position of conducting board exams. Therefore, exams will be conducted," Sanyam Bhardwaj, CBSE's Controller of Examinations said.

The clarification by the CBSE officials came amid uncertainty over when the exams will be conducted leading to speculations that the exams will be done away with in a one-time arrangement.

"We are prepared to conduct board exams for class 10 and 12 pending due to the lockdown in wake of the COVID-19 situation in the country. The exams will be conducted for 29 subjects crucial for promotion and admissions to undergraduate courses, at the first possibility. The students will be given at least a 10-day notice before exams are conducted," a senior HRD ministry official said.

"States have been asked to start the evaluation process for the exams already conducted and have been advised to facilitate evaluation of answer sheets. The CBSE will also issue instructions for marking or assessment of non-important subjects not included in the list of 29 subjects," the official said.

Later, a nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24, which has now been extended till May 3.

The board was not able to conduct class 10 and 12 exams on eight examination days due to the coronavirus outbreak. Further, due to the law and order situation in northeast Delhi, the board was not able to conduct exams on four examination days, while a very small number of students from and around this district were not able to appear in exams on six days.

"Considering the extraordinary circumstances, the board had decided to conduct exams only for 29 crucial subjects as against over 40 remaining subjects. For the rest of the subjects, the board will not hold examinations and instructions for marking and assessment in all such cases shall be separately issued,” the official said.

HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on Tuesday had interacted with education ministers of states.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had suggested that students be marked on the basis of internal assessment as it is not feasible to conduct the pending exams now.

Sisodia, who is also the education minister, said students of Delhi will be more affected due to delay in conduct of exams as different states have their own boards, while the national capital only follows CBSE.

Education ministers from different states also put forward deliberations being made about their respective state boards.

The Bihar board has already announced results for three streams of class 12 and is in the process of evaluation of class 10 exams.

The Uttar Pradesh board is yet to begin the evaluation and will take a call in this regard soon.

The CBSE has already announced that it will not be conducting any exams for students in foreign countries.

"There are several CBSE schools located in 25 countries. Each of these countries are also under lockdown and have decided to close down the schools for various and differential lengths of time. Under such circumstances, it is felt that the board will not be in a position to hold differential sets of exams for each of these countries,” the official said.

"Also, in the present situation, it will be difficult to bring the answer books to India for evaluation purposes. Therefore, the Board has decided to not hold any more exams for the students of class 10 and 12 schools located outside India,” he said.

According to the HRD ministry officials, as of now there are plans to conduct competitive exams, including JEE and NEET, in June for admission to engineering and medical colleges.

For other undergraduate admissions, the University Grants Commission (UGC) is working on an alternative calendar for the new academic session which will notify the timeline within a week.

A seven-member panel, set up to study the issue, has recommended that the undergraduate admission process be started in July-August and the new session for freshers be started from September. However, no final decision has been taken in this regard yet.

Source : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

CBSE says will hold Class 10, 12 board exams, give 29 subjects priority

The clarification by the CBSE officials came amid

uncertainty over when the exams will be conducted leading to speculations that the exams will be done away with in a one-time arrangement

By : Business Standards | Web Team & PTI | New Delhi | April 29, 2020

The board exams for class 10 and 12 pending due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown will be conducted at the first possibility, CBSE officials said on Wednesday.