PERAMBALUR: In an effort to catch up with the ways of the ongoing pandemic, a government school teacher has spent a lakh from her savings to buy 16 smartphones and sim cards for her students. A teacher of Elambalur government higher secondary school, K Bairavi, told The New Indian Express that she wishes to conduct online lessons for her students just like private schools.
Her students, who study in standard 10th, will be appearing for board exams next year. Taking their financial background into account, she bought the smartphones and even recharged the sim cards for the students to avail lessons.
"We went to various villages to approach parents and convince them to admit their children. Here I saw several students living under poverty without any basic facilities at their homes. I was very sad after seeing this," K Bairavi said.
"Due to lockdown, I have been teaching my students through WhatsApp for the last few weeks. But some of them do not own a smartphone and no money to recharge. This is why I decided to buy smartphones and distributed them to my students. The idea was given by my daughter. I have set up a blackboard at my house to record online classes for my students."
Bairavi, who distributed phones to 16 students including the new joinees, has assured them that she will continue to recharge their smartphones till the school reopens.
One of Bairavi's students, Priyadharshini, said, "When my teacher came to our house during a door-to-door campaign, my parents asked her about online classes. After telling my parents about the classes, we were invited to the school. Bairavi madam surprised us by giving us a smartphone. I am very happy as nobody in my family has one. I will use it for my studies."
Schools in Tamil Nadu have remained closed for over five months. In this situation, the state government declared all students as 'pass' in the annual exams. Subsequently, enrollment in government schools began two weeks ago.
Teachers at Elambalur government higher secondary school in Perambalur district have been doing a door-to-door and distributing leaflets describing the features of government schemes available for the students. Also, they are raising awareness among parents about the special features of their school.
They are conducting lessons through 'Kalvi Tholaikatchi', a government-run TV channel.