Imagine a situation. Students in any indiscriminate Government school in a distant village of State studying with help of lCD screen, web boxes and internet! Somebody who has known Jharkhand for years will term this as a utopian thought. But pause for while before trashing the thought as utopian. It is going to be a reality very soon.
District administrations across the State have signed (some will sign) a Memorandum of Understanding with a Non-governmental Organisation, Pratham to run smart classes in 100 “identified” schools in State.
As per the MoU 40 students from classes 6 and 7 combined will be short-listed in every identified school. They will be taught Mathematics and Science subjects as per the NCERT syllabus. Each smart class will be provided with a lCD screen, web box and Internet connection.
These students will be taught in the smart classes by trained teachers. Two teachers from each school will be trained by the master trainers of the NGO. The training of these trainers will start on July 15.
The offices of District Superintendents of Education have identified these government schools. In Ranchi 10 such schools have been identified. While marking the schools the authorities have kept in mind the feasibility – enough electricity and adequate number of student- of running smart classes.
“We had the electricity constraints besides various other constraints. But when we consulted the DSE office in Ranchi they helped in identifying the schools where either power was already there or procuring power connection was not difficult,” said K Katyayani, State Head of Pratham.
The initiative is also covering private schools. In private school the school administration is signing the MoU with the NGO. The NGO will offer technical instruments and training. Only those 40 students would be selected who are paying yearly fees less then Rs. 6,000. These students too would be from classes 6 and 7.
The NGO representative informed that the study material they would provide come in two languages – Hindi and English. “We have done this to ensure that students are able to understand whatever is played on lCD screens in their class rooms,” he said.
But how will they short-list only 40 students if number of aspirants in some schools is more than their quotaIJ
“We have decided to enrol students on the basis of their class performance and consistency in classrooms,” said the NGO representative.