Jnana Sethu: Karnataka Parents Raise Concerns Over PU Students Needing Smartphones

Quick Summary

• The Karnataka Department of School Education (Pre-University) has launched the Jnana Sethu program in collaboration with Khan Academy.
• Under the scheme, students from classes 6 to 12 are provided online resources for free to enhance thier learning process.
• Pre-university college lecturers have been instructed to ensure students register for the programme through their smartphones by creating Gmail accounts and accessing Khan Academy’s platform.
• The initiative also includes free AI tools for teachers and a ₹5.4 crore budget allocation for teacher training related to the scheme.
• Parents in rural areas raised concerns about affording smartphones, potential addiction risks, and lack of monitoring in hostels.
• A parent from Tirthahalli highlighted earlier campaigns discouraging smartphone usage now contrasted by this mandate.
• Currently, only pre-university colleges are implementing this initiative; it will expand later to high schools and higher primary students.

Indian Opinion Analysis

The Jnana Sethu programme reflects a forward-thinking approach aimed at integrating digital resources into mainstream education, empowering students with tools from reputable platforms like Khan Academy. However, its accomplished execution hinges on equitable access-an evident challenge given parents’ financial constraints in rural areas and concerns over smartphone misuse among unsupervised hostel students.

While the government’s provision of free online educational content is commendable, a lack of infrastructure at home (e.g., smartphones or internet) may widen disparities rather than reduce them if supplementary measures like subsidized devices or localized monitoring systems aren’t adopted. training efforts towards educators signify an organized attempt but addressing socio-economic challenges remains critical as this policy scales across all eligible grades.

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