Gujarat govt’s edu channel begins training Maharashtra state board teachers

But some teachers who started the course say the Vande Gujarat channel’s training module for Maharashtra teachers has one-sided lectures that are lacking in interaction.

A teacher-training series relayed through the Gujarat government’s education channel Vande Gujarat kicked off on Monday, and state board Marathi subject teachers of Class VIII made up the first batch to undergo training.

However, teachers faulted the cursory nature of the training and said it left a lot to be desired, especially since it was organised for the Class VIII revised syllabus.

“The training was one-sided, where the teacher was just a passive listener before a screen. Teachers could not air doubts; there is a provision for sending queries, but that has a long turnaround time. There is no interaction between the teacher and the resource person,” Prashant Redij, secretary, Mumbai School Principals’ Association, told Mirror.

Marathi teacher Helen D’Silva from St Anne’s school, Malad, said the training module comprised a generic statement, without any attempt to delve into the specifics of how to handle new topics.

“For instance, the letter writing format has changed as per the board pattern, but the Class VIII textbook has an old format. The training should have clarified that. If students learn the old format in Class VIII, it is difficult to unlearn it in the next class. The training video only made vague statements about what teachers should do, but not how they should do it. In one hour, they explained the first and last page, pointed out that pages of the textbook were colourful, and applications for some of the content. Nothing was discussed in detail. It seemed a formality,” she said.

One of the positives that D’Silva pointed out was that teachers no longer had to go to a training centre and spend precious time commuting. “We did not have to waste the whole day. We could just watch it on our phones,” she said.

The Jio TV app is one of the platforms for broadcasting the channel. Teachers who were already questioning the state government’s decision to use a Gujarati channel to impart training in Maharashtra, also pointed out that though the department had given several options to view the Vande Gujarat channel, the reception was the best on the Jio TV app.

“We tried a lot on other networks, but failed,” a principal said.

“Even though the government issued instructions, there was a lot of confusion over accessing the channel. Many teachers did not have the Jio TV app. I got many calls from teachers who were not clear about how to receive the training,” said Nafees Anwar, a Marathi teacher from Farooq Sattar Oomerbhoy High School Boys, Jogeshwari.