Local bodies in Kerala have been on their toes ever since the COVID-19 outbreak happened, managing community kitchens, running quarantine centres, disinfecting public places, along with handling their routine work ranging from sanitation to civil works. Their latest responsibility is to ensure the necessary facilities so that not a single student misses out on the online classes which began last week on a pilot basis.
Students who do not have any facilities are being identified and television sets, laptops or smartphones are being arranged from the own funds or through contribution from sponsors. In the Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat, the initial list had 19,671 students mainly in the Adivasi colonies and coastal regions, without access to a television or Internet.
However, after the first round of arrangements and further scrutiny, the list has come down to 8,600 students. In the city Corporation, the initial list, collected from the heads of schools in the region, has more than 4,000 students, which will further be scrutinised with the help of ward councillors.
Connectivity issues
“Out of the 8,600 students in our region, 266 are from Adivasi areas, where we have been running ‘Vanajyoti’ centres for three years to provide evening tuition and snacks for the students. Television sets will be arranged in all 15 centres for students to access the Victers educational channel. In the other regions, they will be set up in community study centres, libraries or anganwadis. Already, televisions have been placed in 26 such centres, where students can come together and study. For students from remote areas, we will provide laptops or smartphones, though connectivity issues have to be addressed,” says Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat president V.K. Madhu.
In 42 coastal villages in Thiruvananthapuram, the project is being implemented through 55 fishers’ societies. The district panchayat plans to buy around 300 television sets for the purpose.
Banking on sponsors
With revenue running dry and expenses shooting up, the local bodies are expecting individuals and organisations to sponsor television sets, smartphones or laptops. At the Bison Valley panchayat in Idukki district, the local church sponsored televisions for some students. “In some settlements, television sets have been distributed through the church. We have been asked to identify students who might have been missed out,” says Mercy Thomas, panchayat president.
At anganwadis
At the Pullur Periya panchayat in Kasaragod, the plan is to have television sets at a common centre in every locality. “We plan to put up television sets in 31 anganwadis in the panchayat. The number of students without facilities is being ascertained,” says Sarada S. Nair, panchayat president.