Lack of skilled teachers in India is a well established fact. The problem becomes all the more aggravated in insurgency hit areas. Kanker is one such district in Chhattisgarh that has been badly hit by the Maoist terror. But as they say necessity is the mother of invention, the district collector Shammi Abidi took an innovative approach towards teaching the children. With the help of screen casting technology, video lectures were developed which are now run in more than 100 schools in the district.
Government schools in India are usually far away from technological interventions. Not in the case of schools in Kanker District. The video lectures in the government schools contain comprehensive study material for subjects like English, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics for class 10, 11 and 12. Videos were thoroughly scrutinised by subject teachers before running them in the schools.
The summer vacations were utilized to prepare the videos, when the local teachers gave their valuable time to the cause. The entire exercise was carried out like a time lined corporate project. Most interestingly the purchase of infrastructure like Television sets and projectors took place from the existing funds and did not dig into any government scheme or fund.
The Maoist hit district had an acute shortage of skilled teachers. The situation was even worse in the interior of the district.
News Source: Indian Express | TOI | BS
Image Source: Zaya
