Mumbai, January 2022: Vishwajyot High School has returned to full-time, face-to-face instruction with its innovative model of education after the Government of Maharashtra’s Department of School Education and Sports gave its consent to re-open schools from the 24th of January, 2022. The school has also been transforming the educational landscape since the Covid-19 outbreak with its hybrid education model to safeguard students whose learning has been impacted severely in the ‘new normal.’
With the aim of providing students in-person instructions with COVID-19 preventative measures in place, Vishwajyot has been putting into practice its innovative & interactive hybrid form of education that enables students to have the option to continue remote instruction using a self-paced learning software. Where schools are using technology and sending out pre-recorded videos or simply broadcasting the live class without interaction for online students, Vishwajyot has created a fully interactive immersive experience so that students can experience the content delivered fully while training the teachers and giving them the technology to interact with both sets of students, those attending in-person classes and those attending online classes. This model was introduced keeping in mind concerns from a section of parents who still felt uncomfortable sending their children to schools.
“Vishwajyot High School in Kharghar has gone beyond the generic norms of online education. Our hybrid model is invested in providing our students a stellar education experience so that they can learn to do their best ability by using both online and offline modes of education.”, said Amrut Dhumal, Co-Founder at Vishwajyot Schools. “This system is also flexible in a way that as the students start feeling comfortable, they can opt for in-person teaching. This model ensures that the students/parents do not feel pressured and allows them to make the right decision without worrying about the loss of learning”, says Amrut.
Preventative measures for in-person instruction include mandatory mask-wearing, socially distanced classrooms, plexiglass barriers to separate students or staff members where appropriate, no shared supplies, and frequent cleaning and sanitation of classrooms, bathrooms, and cafeterias, among other things. The high school adheres to an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) which aligns well with the SOP provided by the Maharashtra government. The high school is focused on maintaining the sanitation, security, and safety of the children, and has a checklist for each of their schools to ensure the same.
“The roadmap to safely reopen schools for in-person learning is forged by ensuring transparency and building trust with the parenting community, starting with the safety standards and resources needed to keep everyone in our schools safe,” said Prasad Dhumal, Co-Founder at Vishwajyot Schools. “We have developed reopening plans by remaining cognizant to the education community, including teachers, and they are based on scientific standards that minimize COVID-19 transmission in schools. Teachers. Parents and school staff understand that there can never be an adequate substitute for in-person learning and that reopening schools is vital for our children’s well-being and education, but in-person learning must be safe for everyone”, says Prasad.
For thorough planning, the opinions of parents and guardians were taken through forms and webinars. It was found that in Lonand and Phaltan districts of Satara, roughly 85% of parents wished their children to have physical learning. While in Khargar, Navi Mumbai, 30% of parents expressed their desire for in-person classes.
In Kharghar and Phaltan, Vishwajyot has arranged both online and offline classes, thereby allowing the parents the choice for their children to either attend the school in-person or via remote learning. In Kharghar, the high school has set up an innovative hybrid arrangement, through which, teachers will be able to teach both offline and online students at the same time.
With the assurance that the protocols in place are practical and basis the positive responses of the students and parents, the school is ready to open its doors to its student and welcome them back from the COVID-induced break.
About Vishwajyot: Vishwajyot High School was founded in 2004 with a passion to reform education in India and create a love for learning in each child. The education system at Vishwajyot is designed to unlock every person’s learning potential by helping them discover about themselves and around the world. For the last five years, Vishwajyot High School has been steadily climbing the rankings to become the best national curriculum school in Mumbai. In the recently released Times School Survey Rankings, it is ranked as the top school in the Navi Mumbai region, for the fifth year running while reaching an enviable position in the Mumbai region as well.
The school’s pedagogies are founded on the philosophies of world-renowned specialists such as Dr. Rudolf Steiner (creator of Constructivism) and Dr. Howard Gardner (Harvard School of Education).
Beginning with Kharghar, Navi-Mumbai, Vishwajyot expanded its reaches with two more schools set-up in the Lonand & Phaltan regions of Satara, Maharashtra.
