Jnana Sethu: Not all parents happy with PU students in Karnataka being told to bring smartphones

Shivamogga

The Department of School Education (Pre-University) has instructed lecturers in pre-university colleges in Karnataka to ensure that their students register for the Jnana Sethu programme with their smartphones. The students have to open a Gmail account and get the login facility to the Khan Academy, which provides resources online under the scheme.

This has left parents, particularly in rural areas, worried. While many have reached out to teachers saying they cannot afford to buy smartphones for their children, a few parents expressed concern over the ill-effects of addiction to phones. The parents of those students who are staying in hostels are more worried, as they would not be with the children to monitor their usage of phones.

Harish M.K. of Melinakoppa in Tirthahalli told The Hindu that he had been the guardian of his sister-in-law who is studying in a college. “Earlier, the teachers and officers conducted awareness campaigns discouraging the use of smartphones among students. Now, surprisingly, they are asking us to get phones for students. Who will monitor the use of phones in hostels?” He also stated that he would get a phone for a student only if the college principal or the hostel in-charge assured the safety of the girl student.

The scheme

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in his budget earlier this year, announced Jnana Sethu scheme in collaboration with Khan Academy, a non-profit organisation working in the field of education.

The objective of the scheme is to make the learning process effective for students from classes 6 to 12 in government schools and colleges. The organisation will be providing the resources free of cost to students and allowing teachers to use its AI tools for free. The department will be spending ₹5.4 crore for the training of the teachers under the scheme, as per the order issued by the department.

High schools later

As of now, the lecturers of PU colleges have been told to register their students for the scheme. In the coming days, students in high school and higher primary students are expected to join the scheme.

Chandrappa S. Gundupalli, Deputy Director of Pre-University Education in Shivamogga, said as per the instructions from the department, he had asked lecturers to do registration in colleges. “Children can access the material online using mobile phones.. We are just following the instructions of the department and monitoring the registration process,” he stated.