The Ministry of Human Resource Development released the PRAGYATA guidelines on Digital Education, with an aim to improve online education and ensure the safety and academic welfare of the students.

Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, released the eight-step guide on online education on July 14, 2020, which is, Plan- Review- Arrange- Guide- Yak(talk)- Assign- Track- Appreciate (PRAGYATA).

About PRAGYATA Guidelines

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected schools and children across the globe. In India alone, over 240 million children have had to face a negative impact of the pandemic in terms of education
To overcome the loses faced by schools or the children, the Government of India had initiated the Digital India campaign for a conducive environment for moving towards digital education
PRAGYATA guidelines have been issued keeping in mind the overall development of the students with an aim to cut down undue screen time
The guidelines will be relevant and useful for a diverse set of stakeholders including school heads, teachers, parents, teacher educators and students. The guidelines stress upon the use of an alternative academic calendar of NCERT, for both, learners having access to digital devices and learners having limited or no access.

Division	Screen Time for students
Pre-Primary Students	Not more than 30 minutes a day
Classes 1st to 8th	Not more than 2 online sessions per day, 30 to 45 minutes each as decided by states/UTs
Class 9th to 12th	Maximum four sessions per day, 30 to 45 minutes each as decided by states/UTs

The PRAGYATA guidelines include eight steps of digital learning. These steps guide the planning and implementation of digital education step by step. Discussed below are the same:
Plan – For a better face-to-face teaching experience, planning is extremely important.
Review – Identification and availability of tools and resources required for conducting online classes.
Arrange – Collecting all the resources and arrangement and organisation of daily/weekly classes
Guide – Keeping everyone involved well informed is very important.
Yak (Talk) – During guidance, teachers must talk or discuss things clearly with the parents and their wards
Assign – Assigning group activities or individual assignments, depending upon the technological tools available with the children
Track – To ensure that the students do not lose interest in studying virtually, teachers must track their development and assignments through suitable means
Appreciate – Motivating children for their performance boosts their confidence and also builds interest in the work they are doing.