Education ministry helpline received over 10,800 calls from distressed students, Parliamentary panel told

The helpline was set up to address mental health issues of students and teachers during the Covid-19 pandemic

A helpline set up by the Ministry of Education to address mental health issues of students and teachers during the Covid-19 pandemic received 10,813 calls in the last six months while an official survey claimed that 15% of students showed some learning gaps and 18% were not able to attend online classes, a Parliamentary panel was informed on Tuesday.

In its presentation before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, the Ministry also referred to a survey conducted by the CBSE which said 80% or 10,799 of 13,527 schools surveyed between July and October were conducting classes by Zoom, WhatsApp and Diksha while 41% schools reported that their students were facing difficulty in learning Mathematics.

The presentation was made before the panel headed by senior BJP MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, which is examining the 'Plans for Bridging the Learning Gap Caused Due to School Lockdown as well as Review of Online and Offline Instructions, Examinations and Plans for Reopening Schools'.

Referring to a survey conducted by the CBSE between July and October in which 13,527 schools participated, the Ministry said 9,764 (71%) schools had ensured availability of textbooks with all their students while 55% schools were sending individualised learning plans to children’s homes. Another 11,711 trained their teachers to conduct classes online.

A second survey at regional levels in late October showed that 21,883 schools (90%) have successfully conducted internal surveys for ascertaining learning gaps and reached out to their students in one way or the other.

"On an average around 15 % of students reportedly showed some learning gaps. Around 18% of students are not able to attend online classes. More than 90% of schools in almost all the regions have taken measures to handhold students who are not attending online classes," it said.

However, sources said, one of the MPs told the meeting said this could be the scene in urban areas but the situation in rural areas was worse.

According to a note shared with the multi-party panel, the Ministry also said in only a few states and union territories, 80% or more students had digital access. It cited Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, Haryana, Puducherry and Uttar Pradesh in this regard.

In the presentation, the Ministry said it had set up a national toll-free helpline -- 8448440632 -- on July 21 last year to address concerns of students. A total of 10,813 calls have been received between July 21 last year and January 6 this year.

A Working Group has been set up to monitor and promote the mental health issues and concerns of students and to facilitate providing of support to address the mental health and psychosocial aspects, through counselling services, online resources and helpline, the ministry told the panel.