Undeterred by financial and logistical constraints imposed by the pandemic, Roshni, the much-acclaimed project of the district administration for the educational uplift of migrant children and their integration into mainstream society, has managed to stay relevant by switching to online mode.
The project now caters for over 1,000 children, including 78 in their home States, spread over 35 government and aided schools in the district by equipping its band of 38 Education Volunteers (EVs) in pedagogy and handling of electronic gadgets through online multilingual training. They also attended convergence training for government teachers conducted over Victers Channel. “Our resource team of seven senior EVs for Classes 1 to 7 watch classes aired through Victers Channel and create interactive and adaptive modules in the form of pictures and videos based on our trusted system of code-switching. The modules are then disseminated over 35 separate WhatsApp groups of schools, and students are required to submit works based on the modules,” said Jayasree Kulakkunnath, academic coordinator of Roshni. (Code-switching involves a speaker alternating between two or more languages in the context of a single conversation).
The project has been divided into four regions — Thripunithura and Kolancherry, Ernakulam, Aluva, and Perumbavoor and Kothamangalam — for administrative efficacy and is monitored by general coordinator C.K. Prakash. Feedback from students is also collected and instructions are given to parents as well through WhatsApp groups.
Creating modules for the 120-odd first standard students who haven’t experienced any form of schooling before remains a more onerous task. “Since the majority of them are comfortable in Hindi, we have to make those modules predominantly in that language using animation tools while switching between Malayalam and English accordingly. They have already started reading and writing Malayalam and English,” said Roopa John, the senior EV for Class one students. Besides, four common study centres are being run in Perumbavoor region while EVs and teachers visit migrant households to engage students. “Sometimes, such visits help revive the interest of students who are otherwise lethargic in their response. It also helps us bring in new students into the fold,” said Abraham C.A, Headmaster of Government Girls LPS, Perumbavoor.
A volunteer has also been engaged to collect and keep a digital portfolio of each student and mark the attendance of EVs and students digitally, which is then shared with district education officials to ensure the efficiency of the project.
“A ₹78 lakh-proposal for the restructured project encompassing all components has been submitted to BPCL, which has been assisting the project,” said Honey V. Alexander, Deputy Director of Education, Ernakulam, who is also the nodal officer of project Roshni.
