holiday homework was as simple as doing craft work or learning to make a cucumber sandwich. A lot of parents around the country are complaining that nowadays they have to take over and finish their child’s holiday homework, instead of having the child complete it.National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, meanwhile, states that “over 85 per cent of a child’s cumulative brain development occurs prior to the age of 6, indicating the critical importance of appropriate care and stimulation of the brain in the early years in order to ensure healthy brain development and growth.”Schools claim that homework is being modified as per NEP 2020 guidelines. Priya John, Principal of DPS Indirapuram, says, “Holiday homework has been prepared according to NEP 2020 which ensures that the children are joyfully involved in various experiential learning activities. It will help them in developing organisational skills, and time-management, and promote independent learning.”Mena Mittle, Vice Principal of Modern Public School, Delhi, says it is important to make sure that “children are taught about the importance and basics of researching from a young age. We are producing researchers and thinkers and it is essential to ensure that children know what is going on in the world. Parents can sit and help their child with the homework, rather than doing it for them.”Some educators, on the other hand, believe that such involvement of parents in finishing the holiday homework might not be ideal, and reflects badly on an institute. Shikha Banerjee, Principal of Seth Anandram Jaipuria School, Kanpur, says, “If parents find themselves needing to step in and complete their children’s holiday homework, it may indicate that the tasks are beyond the child’s current capabilities or that they require excessive parental involvement.”Some parents have also complained that the ‘research-driven’ homework has led to an increase in screen time for young children. “These days, the holiday homework increases screen time, as children need to browse online for research work and projects. Kids are now heavily dependent on various search engines,” says Divyanshi Sharma, whose younger brother in Panchkula has had to spend hours online looking for answers.
