Coronavirus lockdown in Delhi: AAP govt, Khan Academy start maths classes for class 9 students

Delhi government has started online mathematics classes for class 9 students of the state's government schools in collaboration with Khan Academy.  The Khan Academy is a non-profit educational organisation that provides free video tutorials and interactive exercises to educate students.

Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia announced the initiative on Twitter, "Excited to launch a partnership between Delhi govt schools and Khan Academy for students of Grade 9".

Shailendra Sharma, senior advisor to the education minister said the key reason to introduce online maths classes for class 9 students of Delhi government school, in collaboration with Khan Academy, was to build the foundational skills needed.

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Last year the pass percentage of  Delhi government schools' class 9 students in mathematics was merely 57 per cent. Additionally, only 71 per cent students passed in maths in class 10 board exams, despite the overall pass percentage of 97 per cent. Therefore, it was important to introduce online maths sessions, Sharma added.  

Schools in Delhi have been shut for more than a month due to prolonged nationwide lockdown. Therefore, Sisodia, along with a team of Delhi's education department have been trying to introduce new methods to prevent any further losses in academic activities.

Class 9 students will be sent links to mathematics lessons designed by Khan Academy through SMS from Monday. The link will comprise two or three videos and a couple of activities. Sandeep Bapna, managing director of Khan Academy India, said the programme will be 10-week-long, in which parents will receive an SMS with a link each day.

Delhi government started online classes for different grades on April 1. Online classes began on April 6 for class 11 students. The online class runs for one and a half hours for each subject. So far 1.33 lakh class 11 students have enrolled themselves for the online session.

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