Tripura govt suspends neighbourhood classes

The Tripura government on Friday decided to suspend neighbourhood classes following a spike in COVID-19 cases in the state. An order issued by Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar said, in view of the rise in COVID-19 cases in the state, the neighbourhood classes would remain suspended with effect from August 29 until further order. Tripura registered its highest single-day spike of 509 COVID-19 cases on Friday, which pushed its coronavirus tally to 10,436.

The order said, "However, the following ongoing activities shall continue including live classes in local TV channels, broadcast of recorded video classes by Doordarshan and local cable TV channels, Ektu Khelo Ektu Poro activities for children and classes by teachers through various video conferencing platforms".

The order also stated that Head Masters of schools under the Education (School) Department are requested to ensure strict compliance of the above instructions.

"Today a total 20,280 teachers participated and 1,23,707 students attended the neighbourhood classes across the state. But we have to suspend the neighbourhood classes due to the sudden rise in COVID-19 cases. We have tried our level best to provide education to students who didnt attend the online classes", state Education minister, Ratan Lal Nath told reporters.

On August 21, the first day of the neighbourhood classes, over one lakh school students in Tripura attended the classes in open places maintaining social distancing, Nath said. The state government started neighbourhood classes for students, who do not have television sets or mobile phones, the minister said on Friday.

Under this system, a teacher taught a maximum of five students by strictly maintaining social distancing. Students from class 3 to class 12 participated in the neighbourhood classes in the school ground or an open space near the educational institution, the minister said.

The state government is holding virtual classes through cable TV networks and mobile phones to engage the students in the process of learning. But a survey conducted by the state Education Department found that all students do not have access to mobile phones and TV.