Bhubaneswar: To bridge the gap in education because of the closure of the school, the state government has decided to involve training teachers to visit children’s homes and teach them.
This will be an internship program for diploma students in basic education (D.el.ED) as part of their curriculum.
This program will be initiated by the State Education Research and Training Council (SCERT) related to UNICEF.
The government has taken several initiatives to reach students in the absence of physical classes.
From online classes to sessions on YouTube, Radio and Doordarshan, efforts to reach government school students.
But there are many who do not have access to smart phones or internet connectivity.
“To bridge Digital Divide, we will launch an alternative internship (AIP) program where students D.el.ed will go to children’s homes and teach them,” said Gangadhar Sahoo, Scomert Director.
Scerter has planned to involve around 10,000 students who pursue two-year courses D.el.ed in 65 teacher training institutions throughout the state.
Each will teach a maximum of 10 students from class II to V in their own territory after the Covid-19 protocol like wearing a mask, using hand cleanser and maintaining social distance.
Teaching will last for three months.
“This is a win-win situation for trainees and school children.
Training participants will get experience and exposure while students will also learn their lessons,” said Sahoo, added, “To take a physical class, the approval of parents is a must.
In addition, the village head or community leader will be consulted for the time and place for classes in his area “Sahoo said AIP was planned after seeing the success of the pilot project in the Gurumohisani Block district of May-Urbhanj, where students from the Block Institute of Education Training (Biet) taught Children in their territory as part of an internship program.
Under the D.el.ed course, students must take at least 23 classes in the nearest schools.
“Because the school was closed because of a pandemic, I suggested around 80 students at our Institute to go to their village and take a physical class after the Covid guidelines.
It helps both trainees to complete their internships and improve school children’s learning skills.
I have prepared a small video and Post it online.
Our senior officials pay attention to it and decide to replicate the same in all districts, “said Purna Chandra Brahma, Principal Biet, Gurumohisani.
Scerter has partnered with UNICEF to implement the project as the last to document the entire process and provide safety kits including masks and cleaners to training participants and school students.
The District Education and Training Institute (DIET) in all 30 districts will evaluate the implementation of the project and issue an extension letter to the teacher of the training participants.