Jamaat criticises govt’s decision to conduct online classes
Mia Golam Parwar, Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami, has expressed strong criticism of the government’s decision to hold online classes three days a week in all schools and colleges across the country. He conveyed his protest in a statement on Thursday, April 2.
In the statement, he said that the decision—taken at a coordination meeting held at the Secretariat on March 31 to run online classes three days a week in educational institutions in Dhaka and other major cities—is highly undesirable and shortsighted. “The government is imposing online classes on young students under the pretext of the energy crisis, which is part of a deeper conspiracy to create a generation devoid of intellect,” he added.
He further stated that an online-dependent education system exposes students to multiple harms. Many underprivileged students are cut off from learning due to the high cost of internet access. The use of smartphones under the guise of online classes exposes young students to device addiction and moral decay. Classroom-based learning is disrupted, significantly affecting students’ regular study habits. “Under these circumstances, implementing an online-dependent education system is tantamount to deliberately destroying students’ educational lives,” he said.
Mia Golam Parwar also pointed out that the negative impact of an online-dependent education system during the COVID-19 period is reflected in the National Student Assessment 2022 report. The report revealed that primary-level students failed to achieve grade-appropriate competencies in Bangla and mathematics. Students from poor and remote areas, such as Mymensingh, lagged far behind their counterparts in relatively affluent regions.
He added that efforts to implement the new curriculum in 2023 without proper planning, combined with uncertainty in educational institutions during and after the July Revolution period, and the lack of reforms in the education system, have hindered recovery from the damage caused to students and the education system during the COVID-19 period.