‘Classroom on wheels’ goes to Rajasthan rural areas

Addressing the issue of scarcity of good teachers in rural areas, ‘Shiksha Rath’ a digitally-enabled “classroom on wheels’ will provide education in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Barmer districts

The ‘Shiksha Rath’, a modified bus equipped with a digital studio, was flagged off to Jaisalmer district’s Ramdevra village. Photo: YouTube/UTKARSH CLASSES JODHPUR

A unique digital “classroom on wheels”, launched in Jodhpur on Thursday, will provide education to the students living in villages and remote areas and address the issue of scarcity of good teachers in small towns. The initiative will also generate awareness about digital education among the students and parents.

The ‘Shiksha Rath’, a modified bus equipped with a digital studio, was flagged off to Jaisalmer district’s Ramdevra village. The students in the village will benefit from the digital classroom comprising a smart interactive panel and high–resolution cameras and having high–speed Internet connectivity.

The digital classroom will extend the academic facilities, with an effective and efficient understanding, to the students of upper primary and secondary classes as well as those preparing for various competitive examinations. In its pilot phase, the Shiksha Rath will cover the small towns and villages in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Barmer districts.

Nirmal Gehlot, founder and CEO of Utkarsh Classes, which is operating the Shiksha Rath, said here some of the teachers connected to students through e–learning courses would also travel in the bus to the villages. This will provide an opportunity to the students to meet and learn from their favourite educators in person.

Mr. Gehlot said the parents would be able to see the working of a digital studio and experience how their children could have a better learning experience from top educators. Besides, the Shiksha Rath will identify the “hidden gems” among the teachers residing in small towns and enable them to deliver their educational contents through its digital platforms to the students across the country.

While the initiative will highlight the role of good education and guidance in shaping the future of younger generation, Utkarsh Classes aims at reaching out to 50 lakh students in the next two years. The Shiksha Rath will initially travel to the Hindi heartland and 10 more of such modified buses will be launched later for other States.