The COVID-19 pandemic has brought along a lot of challenges for Delhi government school teachers, who had to quickly adapt and come up with out-of-the box ideas to ensure that learning continues and that none of their students are left behind, either due to the digital divide or financial issues.
Ahead of Teachers’ Day, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia saluted the teachers who went above and beyond their call of duty during the pandemic and praised them for their contribution.
Many of the teachers who received praise from Mr. Sisodia worked towards ensuring that none of their students missed out on the online classes.
Ravinder Kaur, a science teacher from Kautilya Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, said she started taking video classes much before online classes were announced by the government. Her students, studying in Class 10, were already done with six chapters when the material for online classes started coming in. But it was a challenge to keep them interested.
“After a few classes, students lost interest in the subject and this made me think of new, innovative ideas to generate curiosity among them,” Ms. Kaur said, adding that during the lockdown, many of her students have developed a mindset to carefully observe the world around then and not rely only on textbooks.
Rajendra Prasad Sharma from Government Boys Senior Secondary School in Jharoda Kalan said he had to put in extra effort to ensure that no child is left behind due to not having access to a mobile phone. “I started making audio notes and sending it to my students. For some of them that did not have access to mobile phones, I contacted their neighbours or relatives and ensured that they could access the notes or worksheets,” Mr. Sharma said.
On the frontline
Many teachers were given the dual responsibility of taking online classes as well as helping the government in the COVID-19 relief work.
Alok Kumar Mishra, a Social Science teacher from Government Senior Secondary School in Mangolpur Khurd, said he has been serving at the quarantine center it Narela since March 30. “Working this way has given me a great deal of satisfaction as I am able to help my fellow citizens. I am very thankful to the government for giving me this opportunity to serve the country and society in a time of crisis,” he said.
Raj Kumar Dhaliya, from Rashtriya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya in Rohini Sector 21, is the team leader at the storeroom of a quarantine Centre also at Narela.
“My task is to provide goods and services for daily use for people in quarantine. We are working 24 hours to provide them with food and snacks and cater to other requirements,” Mr. Dhaliya said about his new role during the pandemic.
