Critical community driven Interventions by Class Assistants ensures that learning continues in rural india
“It takes a village to raise a child,” this timeless African proverb has a unique significance for our Partners and Class Assistants, as they are doing their bit for children in their communities.
It is a well documented fact that there is a discernible gap between the rural and urban education system in which rural children face many difficulties. According to the Annual State Education Report survey, two-thirds of rural children in India reported they did not receive learning materials or activities at all during the period of the pandemic.
As an initiative to encourage learning so that no child is left behind, eVidyaloka started the Learn From Home Initiative focussed on rural India. The programme helps students get access to recorded sessions of topics, interaction & face-time with volunteer teachers and learning material that children can refer to and practice. The whole programme is brought to life by Class Assistants at the village level who act as mentors to children from the village and encourage students to stay dedicated to their learning.
With deep commitment, these change agents have been working tirelessly and devising unique, innovative and localised solutions in partnership with eVidyaloka, to ensure that the pandemic does not hamper the progress of learning among children.
Here are some inspirational snippets of the work done by our Class Assistants across the country as an ode to the unsung heroes in rural India who work tirelessly to ensure that our commitment to children’s education continues no matter what.
Meet Class Assistant Geetha from Marewad village in Dharwad district of Karnataka. Undeterred that only 4 students had registered for the Lean from Home classes, she went door-to-door and encouraged parents by creating awareness on the need for continuing childrens’ learning. In a couple of months, she was able to gather 35 students from Grades 6 & 7 who started attending the English and Maths live sessions.
Nagarathna’s story is an inspiration for those who see possibilities in even a hopeless situation. Hailing from Nilogal village in Koppal district of Karnataka, Nagarathna herself did not have an opportunity to pursue higher studies, and she works as a tailor part-time to support her family. Inspired by the Learn from Home program and through the live classes, she learnt English along with the students from the volunteer teachers. With enhanced communication skills, she is determined to keep learning and has been promoted to the Field Women Leader in Need Base India (our program partner) and has been an inspiration for her team.
Basamma from Bevur village in Bagalkot district is paving the way for the empowerment of girls and women in her community. She too was inspired by the volunteer teachers in the Learn from Home program and decided to become a Social Worker. She has completed her higher education and graduated with a Masters in Social Work now. Going against the norms and having challenged her community’s mindset on girl child education, she is the first woman in her village to earn a degree. She aspires to become an IAS Officer and is a changemaker in her own right.
27 year Class Assistant Nunibala Mahato from West Bengal is a widow with a 5-year old child. Shy, but very smart, she did not let her unfortunate circumstances deter her from bringing in positive changes in her community. To start the Learn from Home program in her village, she visited every student’s house to help them get ready to learn remotely. She helped set up their system, upload skype and followed up with every teacher to make groups to facilitate learning and interaction with teachers. Going a step further, she decided to upskill as well and would connect with Field Coordinator Kushal regularly to learn Google Meet, Zoom and other apps. She took on a lot of responsibility during the lockdown and is well appreciated by her team, students, and volunteer teachers.
Class Assistant Ranjana Arya from Satbunga district in Uttarakhand enabled the Lean from Home program in her village by visiting every student and guiding them through the process of joining live classes to help them get over the hesitation of technology. She walks one hour per day to reach these children and is well appreciated for being organised and eager to learn new things. She is constantly helping the other Class Assistants and is very focused on working closely with our volunteers to share feedback and ensure students are learning despite geographical challenges of forest areas and wild animals like roaming leopards.
We deeply appreciate and thank each of the class assistants for their service and being a key contributor to our mission of children’s education.