Eminent film actress and Sammanita founder Varsha Priyadarshini on Saturday launched a campaign ‘Mission 1 Lakh’, otherwise known as ‘Mo Chatashalee’, to develop quality education at the primary level. The inaugural function of the campaign was held here. The programme is to be implemented in 17 districts of the State by volunteers of the Atmashakti Trust, Odisha Sramajibi Manch and Odisha Mahila Sramajibi Manch.
Former Odisha Minister of Finance Panchanan Kanungo stressed the need for regular monitoring and evaluation and skill development of teachers.
The Mo Chatashalee initiative would cover 1 lakh students in the districts of Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Balangir, Boudh, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Nayagarh, Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Deogarh and Sambalpur and slums of Bhubaneswar.
The students mostly depend on Government schools and could not access online education during the lockdowns due to the lack of resources such as a smart phone, TV or where internet connectivity is erratic which pushed them at the periphery of education. “This initiative which will have 100 days of learning will serve as an alternative learning avenue for the children to bridge learning gaps among them,” said campaign convenor Aruna Prasad Dihudi.
Odisha Sramajeebi Manch convenor Anjan Pradhan said, “During the lockdowns, we had started a Mission 3-5-8 campaign where we provided remedial classes in 82 blocks of 17 districts where 4,364 schoolchildren of Classes-III, V and VIII by offering them remedial classes to bridge learning gaps so that they can be at par with their peers. The result was quite encouraging and helped us run this large-scale education programme.”