BENGALURU: With online classes entering the second year, some pre-schools have started evening batches so that working parents too can log in with their toddlers.
“We have morning and evening batches.
Last year, there weren’t many queries for admission.
This year, we started evening batches when families with both parents working said morning hours are difficult for them to be in class,” said Mufakhar Tasneem, director, Minikins International Pre-school, HRBR Layout.
These are between 3pm and 6pm, with favourite slots being 4-5pm and 5-6pm.
“Children in this age group need constant motivation and guidance from adults when they’re in class.
It’s important for adults to be around,” Tasneem added.
The expert committee formed by the Karnataka government for online classes last year mandated adults’ presence for preschoolers.
Pre-schools said families with two children prefer one class scheduled at a different time.
“The elder child would mostly have morning classes.
Parents prefer evening classes for younger children so that they can manage both.
Teachers also prefer it as they can be attend classes of their children in the morning,” said Sumi Jacob, principal, Gregorian Children’s Academy, which offered evening batches last year itself.
KLAY pre-schools and day care said 20% of parents opted for 4pm batch from last year.
“As part of our live, online program Learn@Home, we have three batches on weekdays and weekends — morning, afternoon and evening.
As every family has unique needs, we made several slots available through the week.
Convenience of parents given their personal and professional commitments, number of devices available, sleep routines of the child, etc were factored in while designing the schedule.
While at-home parents can work around the child’s routine, working parents need additional flexibility, especially for children below 4 years,” according to the pre-school.
With enquiries picking up, many pre-schools intend to start such batches.
“We realised many families prefer evening classes with parents having more free time then.
In the afternoon, children are lethargic and tired.
So, we’ll have classes after 4.30pm,” said Madhu Narayanan, Samadhuriya e-learning institutions, which intends to start classes for evening pre-primary classes.
Some pre-schools have experimented with classes on weekends as parents and gadgets are easily available at that time.