BHUBANESWAR: With social distancing becoming the new normal during the coronavirus pandemic that shattered the traditional settings throwing up opportunities for online systems, tribal students in Odisha are open to a new world of education. As decided by the State Government, more than six lakh students in 1,731 schools, including Ekalavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS), will be taught with the help of technology until things are normalised for opening of educational institutions.
The ST/SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Department has come up with an innovative alternate learning and mentorship programme to tide over the crisis erupted due to coronavirus scare. The programme will bring together Madhu and DIKSHA mobile applications and integrate it with the present system of learning.
Study materials, lectures and video lessons developed by selected teachers will be uploaded in the new app. The Government has planned to engage mentor teachers to impart education to tribal students at their doorstep if any of them does not have smartphone or out of internet coverage area. The teachers will visit their villages and teach students in small groups with proper social distancing norms.
Principal Secretary of the department Ranjana Chopra said the programme will be launched as Mission e-Suvidya on Monday. "Odisha is the first State to have such an online mode of education system for tribal students," she said.
Online classes through WhatsApp groups have also been planned. The materials developed by the State Resource Group (SRG) will be chanellised to district groups and headmaster resource group besides the teacher-student groups. The worksheets and other study materials are being developed at ST/SC Research Training Institute for ease of learning and remediation exercise. For EMRS that follows CBSE syllabus, online classes will be conducted through STEP app module as suggested by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
Suvidya Patrika will be prepared based on field level inputs and children's experience sharing. While a YouTube channel by the department will be unveiled, weekly schedule has been prepared and shared with all district resource groups in advance. Apart from online teaching, psychosocial counselling, promotion of creative works of students and remedial coaching have been planned.
Director of the department Guha Poonam Tapas Kumar said the mentor teacher programme has been incorporated in the mission to overcome issues of mobile availability and internet connectivity. "Tagging of mentor teachers has been done village-wise. Review committees have been formed to monitor the newly developed mechanism and keep a tab on the activities. We hope the strategies will bridge the gap in learning brought in by the pandemic," she added.