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How This State of India Didn't Shut Down Schooling During The Pandemic

A "Covid positive" story from one of India's most educated states

By Matt GeorgePublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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A VICTERS class in session [Credit: Fotokannan,CCBY-SA4.0,via Wikimedia Commons]

When the Covid pandemic hit, what would you expect from a place like India which has a population of nearly 1.4 billion? Obviously, the system would buckle under the unmanageable load.

And that is exactly what happened. Every other activity including schooling lost priority. Staying alive was more important. But one Indian state stood out with its different approach to tackle the obstacles created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kerala, India's most literate state, put yet another feather to its cap. Here is what they did, in a nutshell:

  • The state government led from the forefront to ensure a seamless transfer from offline to online education
  • They used the existing government machinery as well as social media to broadcast lesson videos to students
  • The total number of classes hosted online during the 2019-2020 academic year was more than 6,000
  • More than 3000 hours of instructional content was aired
  • The community pitched in to help needy students access the online classes through television, smartphones and digital tablets
  • More than 43 million students from pre-primary to Class 12 got the benefit of these classes
  • Read on to find more about this rare feel-good story out of India amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

    The First Bell Rings!

    The digital lessons, dubbed 'First Bell,' began on June 1, 2020, as a stand-in for conventional lessons, and are broadcast on the government-owned KITE VICTERS educational channel, which is part of the KITE (Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education) initiative.

    As part of the First Bell program, the KITE has created and aired 6,200 video lessons, totaling approximately 3,100 hours of instructional content.

    VICTERS studio [Credit: Kannan Shanmugam, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons]

    Additionally, specific episodes have been made available on the web, complete with focus areas and duration, allowing students studying for the exams to view content more readily.

    These YouTube classes had many viewers from the Middle East, America, and Europe in addition to those from India.

    Kerala even conducted 'offline' exams for classes 10 and 12 based on these online classes, when the national education boards canceled them!

    When The Going Gets Tough...

    All this was possible due to the responsible intervention by many organizations in the state including school PTAs, Alumni groups, local bodies, government departments like the police, and even common people.

    A TV set is given to a needy family [Credit: https://brcchittarikkal.blogspot.com/2020/09/tv-distribution-ssk.html]

    Kerala had a strong plan of action:

    • Students who lacked devices to access the digital classes were identified.
    • Such students were provided with televisions, tablet phones, and smartphones, which helped bridge the digital divide to a large extent.
    • Still, some rural students were outside the purview of these efforts, especially in places where mobile network connectivity was poor.
    • Those gaps in the system were covered by the government school teachers visiting students' homes, villages, and tribal hamlets to transact the lessons.

    All of the above ensured that school education continued smoothly even when students couldn't reach their classrooms.

    What Will Happen Going Forward?

    There seems to be no end to the pandemic soon. The rate of vaccination for adults is struggling to keep up with the huge population numbers. This, coupled with the unavailability of vaccines for kids has forced the state to continue schooling online, for this academic year too.

    As the students and teachers gear up for the second year of classes online, dubbed First Bell 2.0, there are fresh hurdles to cross. But this prodigy state of India is confident to overcome any obstacle in providing quality education to its children. The state government is leading from the front ensuring the necessary infrastructure. The Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON) aims to provide high-speed internet access to the poor free of cost, and at affordable rates to others. This would ensure stable internet connectivity all across the state.

    A separate budget has been set up to acquire the equipment required for online classes. Generators and solar power are being arranged for far to reach places. Internet service providers have been requested to give free connection to those in need and waive service fees. To enlist the help of organizations, elaborate campaigns will be undertaken. All district authorities have collected information through schools, parent-teacher associations, educational offices, and other local bodies to identify students who need help.

    All this comes as no surprise from Kerala, the first Indian state to declare internet access a basic human right. They are confident to ride the tide even better than they did last time, and they know that the country looks up to them to learn a lesson or two!

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    About the Creator

    Matt George

    Keen observer of life, passionate writer.

    I love to observe the intricacies of the human character. My writings are reflections of life around me. Or maybe how I as a human react to life. Or maybe I am an alien. You decide.

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