Power outages: Tamil Nadu government asks private schools not to hold online classes

As schools remained closed for the last one week in several districts, many private schools had resumed online classes to cover the portions. This had led to complaints from parents stating that schools were forcing students to take part in online sessions, a senior official from the School Education Department told DT Next.

School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi asked private schools in the rain-battered areas not to conduct online classes, as the students would find it difficult to attend it due to power cuts. The Minister assured that schools would reopen as soon as possible, as normalcy was being restored in the flood-ravaged areas of various districts.

“The parents also reported that children were not able to attend online classes, as they could not access classes due to power failure. Similarly, most students could not charge their mobile phones that were also used to take part in online classes,” added the official. Hence, all private schools were asked to suspend online classes for the time being or begin it only after normalcy was restored, he said.

“Soon, physical classes will resume. Therefore, the schools were also instructed not to compel students to participate in online classes. We have also told the school managements that the missed portions and classes due to rain-related holidays could be compensated by organising extra classes,” he added.

According to the official, the authorities were keen that all the students, including those studying in government and aided schools, should have equal education.

KR Nandhakumar, general secretary of Tamil Nadu Private Nursery, Primary, Matriculation, Higher Secondary and CBSE Schools’ Association, said most of the private schools were not conducting online classes, as many students could not attend them due to rain-related issues.