ISLAMABAD: Parents of the students taking online classes due to the closure of educational institutions amid the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic have demanded the concerned authorities to introduce cheap internet packages during study hours. The online mode of teaching and learning has doubled miseries of the parents who are bound to pay full tuition fee to the private educational institutions for only two or three hour online class daily as well as purchase costly internet packages.
“I have paid Rs. 33,000 as bimonthly fee of my son studying in Junior Montessori in one of the top notch schools of the federal capital which only offers two-hour online study”, Murad Khan a resident of F-6 said while talking to APP.
“Although we as parents help our son, sit with him during the class, switch on and off the mic and video and assist him in completion of classwork and homework, setting aside our official and domestic responsibilities but still concerned that ‘To what extent a five year old child can grasp rightly whatever is taught digitally?’”, he said.
Tahir Aslam, a father of three children said, “Our expenses have been doubled due to the online classes as I bought three gadgets for my three school going children so that they can attend their classes in a comfortable manner”. He said, “We pay heavy amounts as school fees and there is no relief or discount from the school’s administration. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) should at least direct the mobile companies to provide discounted internet packages during the online classes timing”.
All the mobile companies were offering a lot of night internet packages which were only aimed at spoiling our youth. But when these packages were direly needed in morning hours for study purpose, not even a single mobile company paid heed to the educational needs of students, he said.
Shagufta Noreen, a mother of two sons said, “We understand difficulties and challenges being faced by all during this pandemic but small steps can help remove obstacles in the way of educating millions of children”.
Inaccessible internet, poor network connections, costly internet packages were the hurdles which hinder smooth online study process and could be sorted out with the help of telecom companies, she said.
She said, “Not even a single telecom company has offered any exclusive internet package for students or those officials working from home which was direly needed”.
An education expert and National Coordinator Inter University Consortium for Promotion of Social Sciences Pakistan, Murtaza Noor said government should work closely with the mobile companies for provision of special internet packages for the students and other employees who were mostly working from homes now a days. If they could offer night packages, why not for productive purpose during day time, he said, adding, “I think it is the right time to facilitate students and workers”, he added.