The raging pandemic has once again shut them out of their classrooms. Confined to the settlements inside dense forests of Sabarimala, accessing the virtual classes remains a distant dream for them.
These daunting challenges, however, have not stopped them from continuing with their daily classes , thanks to a group of teachers at the Government Tribal LP School in Attathodu. Trekking through dense forests and braving the wild animals, these teachers are now reaching out to each of them personally, twice a week.
40 pupils
According to Biju Thomas, headmaster of the school, all five teachers of the school have been part of the classes at tribal hamlet programme, which will be on till the easing of restrictions and reopening of the school . Of the 40 pupils in the institution, 38 belong to the tribal communities settled across Attathodu, Laha, Plappally, Nilakkal and Chalakkayam – all inside the Sabarimala forests in Ranni.
A majority of these children belong to the Malampandaram tribe, a nomadic community that ekes out a living by collecting forest produce.
Most of these families do not have even access to power supply, let alone internet or the devices to attend these classes. “As these children live in wooded areas unserved by internet providers, they have dropped out of school . This used to be a problem even in last year, as many obstacles prevent these children from making it to the online classes,” explained Mr.Thomas.
Prior to beginning the classes, the school authority held a meeting with heads of the various tribal settlements across the region to sensitize on the need for continuing with the classes. The children from each tribal settlement are taken to a common location and beginning from 10 a.m, the classes continue up to two hours.
The children, according to Mr.Thomas, are excited to see their teachers visiting their homes.
“They wait patiently for us . Probably, they had been missing us all this while,” he added.
Though the authorities have established facilities for remote learning in some of these hamlets, the internet connection remains spotty for most part of the day. During the previous phase of lockdown last year, the school authorities transported these children to an anganwadi building using the school bus and conducted the classes.
