Arki teachers take classes to students' home

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 23

While the government is making tall claims of providing education on the doorstep by opening schools, the Principal and teachers of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Dhundhan, in the Arki subdivision of Solan district have converted homes into classrooms to ensure no student is left out when it comes to getting quality teaching amid the pandemic.

As there are no clear indications of the resumption of regular classroom teaching, the Principal has taken the initiative to ensure that all 507 students are imparted education, irrespective of the fact whether they possessed smartphones for online teaching or teaching material is being distributed on their doorstep.

“Two months ago, we realised that out of 507 students in the school, 15-20 students in the remote areas could not afford a smartphone and they also faced connectivity issues. We decided to take classes to their homes so that their studies are not affected,” said Principal Sartaj Singh Rathore.

He said all teachers were willing to move to villages to teach the students. Three teams of five teachers each (two for classes VI to X and three for classes XI and XII) were constituted and the consent of parents was sought to visit them.

In the past two months, the teams had visited 19 villages, including Hanuman Badog, Damlana Ghati, Madhoti, Peiru, Taimu, Nawan, Dhundhun and Pasal.

Talking to The Tribune, the Principal said, "When a team of teachers visits a particular village, the parents of students of adjoining villages are also informed and a virtual classroom is created at their homes in which the students gets an interactive atmosphere and their doubts are cleared."

Two to three villages are covered in a day and the teams take turns and visit the same villages every week.

The students also shared their positive feedback and experience during a videoconferencing with Education Minister Govind Thakur. The initiative also helped in removing doubts and resolving the issues faced by rural students. The parents are also given tips on the importance of masks, sanitisation and social distancing.

This is not the first time that Rathore has taken a unique initiative. Earlier, the school staff had collected Rs 1.43 lakh while Rs 2 lakh was contributed by the Principal to distribute blazers to all students in the school.