Coronavirus: Assam asks schools to continue teaching via WhatsApp during shutdown

The Assam government on Saturday directed the schools to provide students with course materials and give them homework through WhatsApp to prevent learning gaps and subsequent dropouts during the closure of educational institutes due to the coronavirus outbreak, officials said.

The Education Department asked the schools to create WhatsApp groups with guardians of the students for this purpose, an official said. The department also asked teachers to make short videos on topics in the syllabi and upload them in the WhatsApp groups, he said. It asked the teachers to assist students with studies over the phone or WhatsApp from 7 am to 9 am and 7 pm to 9 pm, besides making home visits, the official said.

The department also asked the schools to use technologies like Google Classroom in future, the official said. It asked the schools to create classwise WhatsApp groups in the educational institutes where students and teachers are more in number, he said. The department directed the schools to identify local youths with smartphones to assist the guardians who do not own such phones, the official said. All educational institutes in the state have been shut till March 31.