The Private Schools’ Association of Jammu and Kashmir (PSAJK) has condemned the government’s lack of action in restoring the 4G network in the Valley and said educational institutes can’t wait endlessly for the situation to normalise. This is the reason schools across India have started online classes through social media to compensate, agency reports said.

According to a statement issued to KNS, the association said social media is the only hope to keep students engaged. “With Covid-19 positive cases emerging every day all over the world, the resumption of normal life appears bleak in the near future. One of its biggest impacts has been on schools and students have been at the losing end,” said G. N. Var, president PSAJK.

He added: “But we cannot just sit and do nothing. Like he schools all around the world, we too have started online classes on social media platforms and it will continue despite low Internet speed.”

The association said a majority of schools have started online classes on platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Skype, WhatsApp, FaceTime, and Google Meet. “We have been receiving some complaints on Zoom, but the company has updated its security; it is a good platform for online classes,” said Var.

On the MHA advisory on Zoom, the association said it has been banned mainly for official meetings and the main reason is its routing of traffic through China. “Many of our schools have invested in different professional educational software, which is both secure and compatible for classes, but that needs high-speed 4G internet and the government is in no mood to give that to us,” said Var.

“We even went to the Supreme Court for the restoration of 4G, but still nothing is happening. It seems the government is playing with the career of lakhs of students.”

Reiterating that Zoom is a secure platform, PSAJK asked all its users to follow guidelines issued by the National Cyber Coordination Centre.

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