Lok Sabha Question No. 3612 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-08-08
Subject: Online Classes in West Bengal
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Dilip Ghosh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3612

TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.08.2022

## Online Classes in West Bengal

## 3612. SHRI DILIP GHOSH:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  details  of  fund  allotted  by  the  Central  Government  to  the  State  Government  of  West Bengal for online classes in schools during COVID-19 along with their utilisation;
- (b) whether All India Radio and local TV channels were used in such programmes and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI)

- (a) The details of fund allotted by the Central Government to the State Government of West Bengal  for  online  classes  in  schools  during  COV1D-19  along  with  their  utilization  is  at ANNEXURE-I.
- (b) to (c) As informed by the State Government of West Bengal, the following major initiatives have  been  taken  by  the  State  for  tackling  the  learning  loss  through  Digital  Learning Platforms during COVID-19 pandemic time:
- (i) Banglar Shiksha Durobhase: State has developed a dedicated toll free number for classes V to XII under Banglar Shiksha Durobhase, wherein students can connect to clear  their  doubts  and  receive  guidance.  A  total  of  4.9  lakh  calls  were  received under this.
- (ii) Learning  through  Activity  Tasks: Activity  tasks  for  Bengali,  English,  Hindi, Santhali,  Urdu  Medium  uploaded  in  the  banglar  Shiksha  portal  for  uninterrupted learning process.
- (iii) E-learning material of all subjects on Banglar Shiksha Portal for the students of Classes  V  to  XII  in  audio-visual  form,  uploaded  in  banglarshiksha.gov.in  (also accessible  through  YouTube)  for  continuity  of  the  teaching  learning  process  in Bengali, Hindi & Santhali medium.
- (iv) Live  Classrooms  on  Television: State  had  conducted  live  telecast  of  Banglar Shiksha Classrooms to facilitate remote learning for the students of classes VI to XII. The live telecast was conducted on three leading Bengali News channels - ABP Ananda, Zee-24 Ghanta and News 18 Bangla, covering all the subjects and a total of  297  sessions  were  conducted  through  this  programme  in  2021-22.  Special arrangements of live classroom sessions have been made for examinee students of Secondary  and  Higher  Secondary  students  for  all  subjects.  Model  questions  with answers are being uploaded in Bangle Shiksha Portal. The online courses have two main  elements  -  Activity  tasks  and  E-learning  materials.  The  main  objectives  of

this initiative is to help students to continue to perform class work through activity tasks  and  revise  topics  with  the  E-learning  Materials  provided,  which  are  mainly video tutorials hosted on the Department's You Tube Channel.

- (v) Ujjiban  Charcha: A  series  of  webinars  were  organised  on  weekends  covering topics for extending academic and psychosocial support to Secondary and Higher Secondary level  students,  with  a  viewership  of  40-50  thousand  per  session.  Each session had moderated discussion with 2-3 experts from relevant fields and queries were collected from the participants, which were addressed by the speakers during the  webinar.  These  sessions  were  also  archived  for  future  reference  on  Banglar Shiksha portal and the Facebook page of the SED.
- (vi) Taruner Swapno: State had started this initiative for providing financial assistance to  the  students  of  Class-XII.  Under  this,  financial  assistance  @  Rs.  10,000  per student  was  provided  to  8.5  lakh  students  for  procurement  of  Tablet  PC/Smart phone to continue their studies on online mode through this programme. Further, 110  Audio-visual  materials  of  simulated  class  room  and  lecture  sessions  on  10 subjects for class XII have also been provided through e-portal 'Banglar Shiksha' and through social media.

******

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  (A)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  3612  TO  BE  ANSWERED  ON  08.08.2022  ASKED  BY SHRI  DILIP  GHOSH,  HON'BLE  MP  REGARDING  'ONLINE  CLASSES  IN  WEST BENGAL'.

Funds Approved for ICT and Digital Initiatives under Samagra Shiksha (Recurring +NonRecurring):

(Rs. In lakh)

|                                                                                                  | 2020-21                                   | 2020-21                                   | 2021-22                                   | 2021-22                                   | 2022-23                                   | 2022-23                                   | Total                  | Total                  |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|
| Components                                                                                       | Funds Approved                            | Expenditure                               | Funds Approved                            | Expenditure                               | Funds Approved                            | Expenditure                               | Funds Approved         | Expenditure            |
| Recurring Support                                                                                | Recurring Support                         | Recurring Support                         | Recurring Support                         | Recurring Support                         | Recurring Support                         | Recurring Support                         | Recurring Support      | Recurring Support      |
| DIKSHA (National Teacher Portal)                                                                 | 23.4                                      | 0.0                                       | 15.0                                      | 0.0                                       | 35.0                                      | 0.0                                       | 73.40                  | 0.0                    |
| ICT and Digital Initiatives (Recurring Support)                                                  | 0.00                                      | 0.00                                      | 1826.40                                   | 1824.00                                   | 0.00                                      | 0.00                                      | 1826.40                | 1824.00                |
| Total-A                                                                                          | 23.40                                     | 0.00                                      | 1841.40                                   | 1824.00                                   | 35.00                                     | 0.00                                      | 1899.80                | 1824.00                |
| Non- Recurring Support                                                                           | Non- Recurring Support                    | Non- Recurring Support                    | Non- Recurring Support                    | Non- Recurring Support                    | Non- Recurring Support                    | Non- Recurring Support                    | Non- Recurring Support | Non- Recurring Support |
| Teacher Resource Package (Primary)                                                               | 0.00                                      | 0.00                                      | 0.00                                      | 0.00                                      | 17729.90                                  | 0.00                                      | 17729.90               | 0.00                   |
| ICT facility to each BRCs under Innovation                                                       | 0.00                                      | 0.00                                      | 0.00                                      | 0.00                                      | 2329.60                                   | 0.00                                      | 2329.60                | 0.00                   |
| ICT and Digital Initiatives (Non- Recurring)- Digital Hardware &Software (Type - I) (Elementary) | Cumulative (Budget Approved &Expenditure) | Cumulative (Budget Approved &Expenditure) | Cumulative (Budget Approved &Expenditure) | Cumulative (Budget Approved &Expenditure) | Cumulative (Budget Approved &Expenditure) | Cumulative (Budget Approved &Expenditure) | 7507.20                | 0.00                   |
| Total-B                                                                                          |                                           |                                           |                                           |                                           |                                           |                                           | 27566.70               | 0.00                   |
| Grand Total (A+B)                                                                                |                                           |                                           |                                           |                                           |                                           |                                           | 29466.50               | 1824.00                |

Source: PRABANDH

* Expenditure details for 2022-23 as on June 2022.