Six-year-old Jammu and Kashmir girl becomes media sensation after appeal to PM Modi on online classes goes viral

A 71-second video addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by six-year-old Mahiru Irfan, seeking a cap on duration of online classes, has propelled the girl from Kashmir to overnight media stardom as camera crews made a beeline at her residence for a soundbyte from her. Mahiru and her family are relishing the media attention after she became an internet sensation on Monday with her video.

Asked why she posted the video message to the prime minister, she said there was too much classwork happening online due to the Covid pandemic.

"There should be some time for the kids to play as well. There are classes and after that homework," she told reporters.


In the one-minute-and-eleven-second video posted on Twitter, the girl appeals to Modi to ease the burden of homework on schoolchildren.

The video, which went viral on social media and has so far garnered nearly 3.3 lakh views and nearly 19,000 thousand likes, caught the attention of Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who directed the School Education Department to come out with a policy in 48 hours to ease the burden of homework on the school students.

"Assalamualaikum Modi sahib! My classes are from 10 am till 2 pm...This much homework is for students of class 6, 7, 10. Why are kids given this much homework Modi sahab?" she says in the video.

The video moved Sinha, who described it as a "very adorable complaint".


The school education department, which had been mulling over the ill effects of long online classes, came out with fresh guidelines limiting daily online classes to half-an-hour for pre-primary students and 90 minutes for primary and middle ones.

The guidelines came within 24 hours of Sinha's directions to the school education department to come out with a policy in 48 hours after the video went viral on social media.

"The school education department has decided to limit daily online classes for a maximum one-and-a-half hour for class 1 to 8, spread across two sessions. For class 9 to 12 online synchronous learning will not be more than 3 hours," the LG wrote on his official Twitter handle.

He said in the case of the pre-primary students, the interaction with their parents on a given day shall be only of half-an-hour and also asked teachers to avoid assigning homework to students up to class five.

"Concerned authorities to ensure the strict implementation. Homework up to class 5 should be avoided. Authorities and schools to plan a joyful learning experience engaging parents as well," he said in another tweet.

Sinha said the children need more time to play and interact with parents, which is "the biggest learning experience a child can have".