KALPETTA: Wayanad is chalking out an action plan to include its over 8,000 school students who do not have internet or TV in e-learning process to pursue education. According to District Education Mission, more than 6,000 such students belong to tribal communities. But as per the data of tribal development department and deputy director of education (DDE), there are 17,000 students who are out of the e-learning system, of whom 9,000 are tribals.
A meeting chaired by Sultan Bathery and Mananthavady MLAs on Tuesday decided to facilitate infrastructure for e-learning at the grama panchayat-level. “Ward-level meetings will be held to make use of community study centres (CSC), libraries, cultural halls and auditoriums as e-classrooms.
TV connection and DTH will be made available there,” said Wilson Thomas, district coordinator of Education Mission. Besides education and tribal development departments, Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK), Kudumbashree and others are joining hands to make e-learning all-inclusive. Tribal promotors, mentor teachers and Kudumbashree tribal animators will volunteer at the grassroots level to make arrangements and bring students.
139 CSCs identified
In Sultan Bathery assembly constituency, 139 CSCs have been identified in 1,200 tribal colonies. “Here we have a TV with cable connection and a computer system. Off late, the cable provider is broadcasting Kite Victers channel. Out of the 30 students, 23 come here daily to attend e-classroom,” says Vijitha C K, facilitator of a CSC at Choothupara. But there are many tribal colonies in rural areas where electricity is unavailable. Though authorities say that solar energy would be made use of in such colonies, it would take time and until then the students are likely to continue out of the e-classroom.