Kerala's e-classrooms reaching out to remote tribal hamlets

Officials proceeding to Edamalakkudy, a tribal village about 15 kilometres into the forest in Idukki district in Kerala, to set up online learning facility. DH Photo

Students of Edamalakkudy, one of the most remote tribal villages in Kerala, which is over 15 kilometres into the forest in Idukki district, are among the over 41 lakh students of Kerala who are attending online classes from their houses or community learning facilities.

Track live updates on coronavirus here

After the two-week long trial run of the Kerala government's ambitious online learning project from Class 1 to 12, titled First Bell, regular classes of the fresh academic year are commencing from this Monday.

Read: Kerala students find innovative ways for e-learning, overcoming poor connectivity

With the suicide of a tenth-standard student, Devika, hailing from a weak dalit family in Malappuram on the opening day of the online classes on June 1 allegedly owing to unavailability of online study facility like smart phone or television connection, the fact that 2.26 lakh students even don't have any means for accessing online classes got highlighted.

Also Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases

What Kerala had seen in the following days was a campaign for providing online access to such students with individuals, voluntary organisations and government and private agencies extending support. The state even witnessed TV, smart phone and computer challenges.

More: E-learning portals affirm a shift in perception as users adapt to challenges

Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) chief executive officer K Anvar Sadath told DH that over one lakh gadgets like television sets and mobile phones were received as donations. He said that priority was given to remote places like Edamalakuddy in setting up the infrastructure for online classes. Officials had to walk through tough terrains like forests to set up the online learning facilities and teachers are ensuring that each and every students get access.

The online classes are being delivered through Victers education channel run by KITES with specific time slots for each standard. It could be also viewed through Facebook and Youtube, with facilities for viewing later also. In order to cater to students of Kannada and Tamil medium students, online classes in both these languages would also offered from Monday.

Also Read: Push for e-learning raises questions about accessibility

In places like coastal areas, tribal hamlets, settlement areas and slums, community learning centres have been set up with support of local bodies, government agencies, Kudumbasree and voluntary organisations. Over 1.20 lakh laptops and 70,000 odd projectors of the state schools were also used for setting up the community learning centres. Cable TV operators and mobile service providers also extended support in ensuring connectivity.

COVID-19 Pandemic Tracker: 15 countries with the highest number of coronavirus cases, deaths

Despite all these initiatives, there were still complaints from some remote areas, especially hamlets in forests, regarding lacking proper connectivity.

CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL COVERAGE ONLY ON DH

Anvar said that the response to the online class was tremendous during the initial two weeks. Apart from India, the classes were many viewers from Middle East, America and Europe. The subscriber base of the YouTube channel reached nearly one million, while over 16.50 lakh persons downloaded Victers mobile app.