Schools and colleges have been shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic across the country and online classes have become the new normal. However, not all students might be able to afford a suitable device or even an internet connection.
At such a time, in a praiseworthy effort, teachers in Jharkhand’s Dumka have come up with a unique way to educate thei students.
According to an NDTV report, Shyam Kishore Singh, the headmaster of Upgraded Middle School in Bankathi village, made sure to help out his 200-odd students.
‘Teachers can change the world,’ Singh told Hindustan Times.
Several loudspeakers have been set up on trees and walls across the village. Students can attend the classes from different locations near the loudspeakers for 2 hours daily. The first such class was conducted on April 16.
These classes start at 10 AM and five teachers teach over a microphone from the actual classroom.
Videos of this innovative measure have surfaced online where students can be seen attending classes sitting apart from each other and maintaining social distancing.
The students are impressed! Innovation is needed in these testing #COVID19 times as many students cannot afford a smartphone or an internet connection. pic.twitter.com/glIrizxTsQ
— STELLA (@BrownKhaleesi) June 26, 2020
Teachers are heard instructing over the microphone and the students take notes from wherever they are attending the class.
A young student says the classes are easy to understand despite the communication barrier.
According to Singh, out of 246 students, only 42 have smartphones at home.
‘The students can send us their queries from any mobile phone and we will address it the next day in class,’ he added.
He says the objective behind this venture was to provide education to every student.
Praising the teachers’ efforts, Dumka’s Deputy Commissioner Rajeshwari B, said ‘These innovative ways help the students a lot as well as the parents who are aware of what is being taught in school. This is a very welcome step.’
