Delhi Government has enjoyed favourable backing and desirable promising results in their edtech platforms. Following the buoyant success, the government is all set to join the bandwagon of reeling in students into virtual classrooms.
Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi’s Chief Minister) has launched the ‘Delhi Model Virtual School‘. The school titled as “first of its kind” came into life on Wednesday (August 31, 2022).
The school will operate from the Shaheed Hemu Kalani Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya in Lajpat Nagar which is an authentic brick-and-mortar school.
The Delhi Government has assured that this is the first time a public school would operate in a virtual mode. The school would operate with an affordable fee which will offer the opportunity for the children to get a quality education.
The National Institute of Open Studies issued a press statement on Wednesday Evening.
They have denied the claim by the State Government. They stated that the Virtual Open School of the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) was launched on August 14, 2021, by Education Ministry.
2,11,394 students have already been certified since the launch of the Virtual Open School. The school is based on the approach of Blended learning.
How will the Virtual School Operate?
Students from all over the country are eligible for admission. The school is affiliated with the Delhi Board of School Education, which was launched recently.
It also has a collaboration with the International Baccalaureate board for its course content.
The school would start its operations with 200 students and would eventually increase the number later.
The Delhi government has been working on the development of the school for almost a year.
Inaugurating the school, Kejriwal said, “Taking lessons from virtual classes that were held during the pandemic, we are launching a virtual school to bring neglected children into mainstream education.”
Kejriwal further added that the main aim behind the school is to help the girl students who are deprived of education. It would also help the students who dropped out and those who can’t attend school physically.
Manish Sisodia (Deputy Chief Minister) announced the virtual school in his March 2021 Budget Speech. He had said that it would be for people who wanted to “benefit from the Delhi model of education”.
Admission Procedure:
The school will momentarily admit the students in classes ninth to twelfth.
The Directorate of Education issued a circular that explains the admission process for class 9th.
- filing the online application form
- document verification
- online examination along with counselling
The students who have completed class 8th and are between the age group of 13 and 15 years can apply.
Kejriwal said, “These schools will not only provide conventional education in an online format but also provide skill-based learning to students who want to pursue a profession simultaneously. This school will also provide preparatory classes for competitive exams like CUET, NEET, JEE, etc.”
The platform will provide online sessions to the students. There would be special sessions for doubt-clearing and guest lectures by professionals and sessions on skill building.
As per the school’s website, qualified teachers would impart knowledge to the students and regional language would also be used.
The school teachers will be participating in Online Teaching Methodologies (OTM), focusing on teaching strategies for building community, facilitating meaningful discussions, and providing insightful feedback online.
The admission fee for the four-hour morning and afternoon session is Rs 1,000. The fee structure hasn’t been released by the school yet.
The students would be provided with registration IDs through which they could access online classes, a digital library, and recorded lectures. The platform has been developed by Google and Schoolnet India.
