Kerala government’s educational programme ‘First Bell’, through which virtual classes for students are streamed online or broadcast on TV, has completed 1,500 episodes.

The classes were launched on June 1 as the schools were not reopening against the backdrop of COVID-19. The YouTube channel, Kite VIcters, on which the episodes are being broadcasted has over 17.6 lakh subscribers and more than 15 crore viewers in a month.

K Anvar Sadath, Chief Executive Officer, KITE (Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education) told IANS that only limited and restricted advertisements are permitted on their YouTube channel. The revenue generated from their channel will be donated to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).

As part of the programme, yoga, motivation and career classes have already begun. Remaining classes such as sports education would start soon, followed by classes on mental health from the first week of September.

For the students who don’t have access to a smartphone or internet, the classes are streamed through the government-run Kite-Victers channel, which is available on cable TV networks.

After the programme was launched, several students from tribal pockets could not attend classes as they had no access to TVs or internet facilities. The state government took efforts to provide these facilities to panchayats so that they would be able to watch online classes.

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