PANAJI: The circular issued by the Director of Education restricting the use of cell phones by teachers in the school premises “to have a very healthy teaching-learning atmosphere” has caused a flutter in the teaching fraternity as it comes barely months after the State Centre for Education Research and Training (SCERT) held an elaborate two day workshop for teachers encouraging them to use “Information Communication Technology” including the use of mobile phones with data connections.
Speaking to the Goan several teachers pointed out that while on one hand, the government was encouraging the use of mobile phones, tablets and asking them to use the content provided by e-pathshala an app developed by the National Centre for Education Research and Training (NCERT), on the other it was saying that “not only are the students misusing the smartphones, the teachers also resort to instructing students to use the smartphones for downloading various material taking advantage of lucrative offers from certain service providers.”
“At the workshop, the teachers were told that they should encourage the use of their mobile phones for teaching including details about how to enhance the size of the text on their screens in a bid to show the students and magnification, etc,” a teacher who did not wish to be quoted said.
When contacted the director of education, whose circular curtailed the use of mobile phones questioned whether instructions to use mobile phones was actually sent out at the conference.
“If you can tell me who has asked them to use mobile phones, I will inquire into it. I will not be making any comment until it is proved,” director Gajanan Bhat told The Goan.
A perusal of the resource material provided at the workshop conducted under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan indicated that teachers were trained for “use of a cellphone as a technological device” while also training the teachers to use an NCERT developed app e-pathshala which included generic content for teaching secondary students.
The Ministry of Human Resources Development has a scheme called the Information Technology @ Schools scheme which provides for schools an elaborate plan to involve the use of information technology including the infrastructure, content and training for teachers to be used in the classroom.
The education department’s circular which reiterates instructions issued in an earlier circular, however, makes it clear that the use of mobile phones will ruin the atmosphere in the school leaving teachers confused over which path they should follow.
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OUT OF SYNC >>
SCERT
Holds workshop for teachers encouraging them to use “Information Communication Technology” including use of mobile phones with data connections
EDU DEPT
Issues circular restricting the use of cell phones by teachers in the school premises “to have a very healthy teaching-learning atmosphere
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If you can tell me who has asked them to use mobile phones, I will inquire into it. I will not be making any comment until it is proved
- Gajanan Bhat,
Education Director
