RANCHI: Enthused over Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioning the initiative taken by Principal Sapan Kumar, who had hit headlines recently for transforming the entire village into a class-room, villagers have planned grand celebration on Monday.
The entire village and Principal Sapan Kumar have expressed gratitude for mentioning his initiative and putting the village on the national map.
With most of the children having no access to smartphones to take online classes, teachers of this tribal-dominated village in Dumka have transformed the entire village into a class-room where walls serve as a blackboard on which students solve assignments given by teachers through loudspeakers.
Under Sapan Kumar's initiative, children enrolled with ‘Utkramit Madhya Vidyalalya’ at Dumarthar village under Jarmundi Block of Dumka were made to use walls as blackboards.
The principal is also making the children self-sufficient who are producing chalks, mats on which they sit while taking the classes and brooms
used for keeping the place clean, on their own, with whatever resources available naturally in the area.
“We are really grateful to Prime Minister Modi that he has mentioned the initiative take by Principal Sapan Kumar. People here are so enthused that they are distributing sweets among each other and have planned a grand celebration in the village on Monday where a community feast will be organized and cultural programme will be organized,” said a villager Sohan Lal Murmu.
Children are also happy that the work done by them is being recognised by the Prime Minister.
“We all have our own blackboard and taking classes regularly even during the period of lockdown. If we don’t understand anything, we write it on the
blackboard and our teachers make us understand maintaining social distancing,” said a student of class 8 Salen Tudu.
Principal Sapan Kumar termed it historical which will encourage him further to do better for the students.
“This is really encouraging for me and will encourage me further to do better for the welfare of the students. I am really grateful for ‘The New Indian Express’ which published the initiative prominently due to which Prime Minister Modi mentioned it in his Man ki Baat,” said the Principal.
It is quite appreciable that the initiative taken in this remote distant village reached to the Prime Minister, he added.
“This technique has actually helped students in increasing their understanding as they learn and write themselves on the blackboard,” said the Principal. It is really effective for the remote villages where there is no smartphone, he added.