With schools shut and no clarity on evaluation of Classes I to IX, the Swadhyay Programme launched by the State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT), has come to the rescue of teachers. More than 28 lakh students across the state are taking these WhatsApp-based evaluations on curriculum of their grade. The council is now planning to extend it for Classes X and XII.

Swadhyay, which literally means self-study, is a WhatsApp-based weekly assessment programme for state-board schools. All a student needs is a phone with WhatsApp to solve multiple-choice questions for which the assessment report too, is shared immediately. While schools in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai are still functioning remotely, other parts of the state where schools had reopened have shut again due to the sudden spike in cases. The current situation had made it impossible to conduct evaluations. The SCERT’s Swadhyay programme has come in handy in these circumstances.