Khed ZP teacher reaches out to Pakistani students

PUNE: Tech savvy teacher Nagnath Vibhute, working at a Zilla Parishad school in Jambuldara in Khed, put his knowledge to the best use and extended his classroom lessons to students in Pakistan via Skype recently.
During the hour-long session, 90 Indian students from the Pune school interacted with students at Root International School in Islamabad.

Their talks were based on the cultures, geography, freedom fighters, academics and relations between the two neighbours. According to Vibhute, the objective for organizing such a class was to promote peace as propagated by UNESCO.

“During the interaction, our students shared information about the Indian flag, culture and geography. The students also conveyed to the Pakistani students about peaceful coexistence and urged them to respect our freedom fighters,” Vibhute said.

Sana Mughal, principal of Root International School, conducted a sessions on mathematics for the Indian students.

Vibhute, a commerce graduate, registered the ZP school with a global website that offers Skype classes with schools across the globe. In January, they had conducted a similar virtual class with an Australian school, where several students from Maharashtra are studying.

“Such exchanges offer students opportunities to learn about foreign schools and their teaching methods. It also helps develop a deeper interest in studies,” Vibhute said. He has built five cellphone applications on various subjects.

Principal Rajendra Raval of the ZP school on the Pune-Nashik highway in Khed tehsil about 40km from Pune said, “People often have a negative perception about Zilla Parishad schools. But we have several teachers who have been taking efforts to improve these standards. Many teachers have started incorporating technology in their daily teaching methodologies. Arranging Skype classes with schools in foreign countries is one of them.”

Hrushikesh Kad, a standard VI student, gave a 10-minute presentation on the Indus river. “We were excited to interact with the Pakistani students. I had studied about the river on the internet and gave a presentation which impressed them.”

The school has 120 students with a special room for Skyping. It has computers with internet connection for students.