Chandigarh, April 18– Boosting the morale of lakhs of students studying in various schools and colleges in the State, Haryana, Chief Minister Mr. Manohar Lal today urged the students to follow the 3S Mantras, ‘Stay at Home, School at Home and Study at Home’, amid Corona Crisis. He urged the students to devote their maximum time on learning through various e-learning platforms which would help them to continue with their studies even while staying at home.

The Chief Minister was addressing the people of the State through live 'Haryana Aaj' program here today.

The Chief Minister while dedicating his 'Haryana Aaj' program, to interact with the students and teachers said that since the time the Lockdown was announced, uncertainty arising from the Corona had greatly impacted the school and college students as they were not able to attend their classes.

He said that on March 18, the annual school examinations in the state were postponed and the schools were closed on March 19. The new academic session generally starts from April 1 every year, but it could not be done this year due to the nationwide lockdown, so students had faced many uncertainties whether or not there would be exams or when they would get admission to the next class.

The Chief Minister State that the State Government had already decided to promote all the students studying from class I to XI grade to the next classes based on the results of the examinations that took place till March 18. He said that to ensure that students of Government and private schools in Haryana do not suffer academic loss, since April 15, new classes for 52 lakh students have been started through cable and DTH channels under the distance education program.

The Chief Minister shared that as the result dates for the Class XII students is not announced yet by the CBSE, the other competitive exams like NDA, JEE, NEET which were scheduled to be held in the months of April and May, now all the students appearing for these examinations have got a golden opportunity by getting more time to prepare their examinations in a more thorough manner.

The Chief Minister said that after Xth standard, in the month of July, about 60 to 70 thousand students take admission in 172 government and 246 private ITIs of the state and the classes start from August month, while on March 24, as all the ITIs were closed, theoretical studies were being conducted through phone and e-learning but practical subjects will start after the lockdown, period ends. He shared that in ITI, there are total 81 trades, out of which in 30-35 trades there is a condition of passing the math and science examination in class Xth. He said that if more time is taken to conduct the science examination, then the State Government is considering to admit such students on a provisional basis, without appearing in science examination. He said that the final decision in this regard will be taken soon. Similarly, the same idea has been planned for students who want to enroll in diploma after Xth grade in which both mathematics and science subjects are required to pass.

He said that private schools had been requested to take only one month fee instead of three-month advance fees and also waive off transportation charges. Apart from this, he said that the teachers are distributing the dry ration month of April to the children at their doorsteps under the mid-day meal programme.

Meanwhile, during the live address, Chief Minister telephonically interacted with some teachers, professors, and a student. During the interaction, the teachers shared that for the students having smartphones, tools and techniques used for learning included live classes with students, online worksheets, daily tips, whatsapp, PDF and YouTube links. While assistance is being given telephonically to the students who do not have a smartphone.

Namrata, a professor from Nuh College shared that since the time the colleges were also closed as a precautionary measure against the disease, all the teachers have started taking the classes digitally. She shared that using the technology, they have made class-wise and subject-wise whatsapp groups in which the study material is shared through YouTube links, PDF files. She said that the study content is also being made available on Siksha Setu App. She said that daily assignments and tests are given to the students to clear their doubts.

Ramesh Kumar, a JBT teacher from Safidon, shared that with the dedicated efforts and cooperation from his school teachers, they were able to distribute dry ration packets under mid-day meal to around 265 students residing in their areas. He said that every family has thanked the Chief Minister for the State Government’s devoted efforts to help them in this hour of crisis.

Sunil Dutt, another JBT teacher shared that to meet the shortage of books, efforts are being made by the teachers to provide old books of the students promoted to senior classes to the students studying in junior classes. He informed that till now some students studying in primary classes have got the old books and the efforts are being continued to provide the books to the rest of the students till the time free books are being provided by the State Government.

Vivek Goel, a Biology professor from government National College Sirsa, said that using the e- learning tool, he has interacted with his students more than 15 times since the second phase of the lockdown was announced. He said that through YouTube links, WhatsApp groups he has been trying to resolve the queries of the students. He said that personal calls are being made to the students who do not have smartphones.

Sahil Kamboj, a student from Yamunanagar shared that he and his family members are sincerely following the lockdown norms. He shared that he has downloaded the Arogya Setu App, which has given him enormous motivation to fight the COVID battle as the app keeps him updated with the latest information about the COVID-19 crisis.

The Chief Minister said that in the battle of Corona, we do not have to fear or lose hope; rather we have to defeat Corona and win against it. Thus we will defeat Corona in Haryana and eradicate it from India, he asserted.