Three teachers in Purulia and West Burdwan have taken up initiatives on their own expenses to continue teaching at a time schools are again closed because of the rising number of Covid-19 cases in Bengal.

The aim of their efforts were to keep the habit of study to resist students from being dropouts during this crisis and long gap as it is a practical problem in rural areas.
The government had reopened schools for the students between class IX and XII in November last year after 20 months since the coronavirus outbreak. But the classes were again suspended from January because of the surge in Covid-19 positive cases.

The online classes were however continuing as usual.

In Purulia a presidential award winning primary school teacher Amitabha Mishra along with some local villagers who are financially capable has constructed a corrugated roof community hall where the teacher has started classes through projector representation.

“The government has announced online classes but in areas like here most of the parents cannot afford a smartphone. The internet connectivity is also not good here. So I have arranged self recorded video clippings of demo classes and showing them through projectors at the hall,” said Mishra, headmaster of Gobindapur Primary School in Manbazar block 1.

Three such coaching classes have come up in Gobindapur and Shitaltar, both tribal populated villages in Manbazar block 1 where many students are first generation learners.

The teacher who received the presidential award and Sikhya Ratna award of the state government in 2018 for his contribution to the society and education has arranged three projectors and boards on his own initiative and expenses.

“I am allowing only 20 students in each batch so that we can maintain social distance. Wearing masks is mandatory. My aim is to keep the habit of studying among them to resist them from dropouts during this long gap,” said Mishra.

The classes are held in the afternoon and he also provides some snacks after the classes.
In West Burdwan’s Jamuria another primary school teacher Deep Narayan Nayak also known as Rastar Master (teacher of streets) has taken up a similar drive. He has also arranged two projectors and held video classes in villages in the afternoon.

“I cannot be present physically in all classes and so I have recorded clippings of my teaching and shown them among students and their parents. The visual effect is creating some interest among them and I am getting a good response. All my effort is to stop them from dropouts during this long recession as it is a practical problem here,” said Nayak, teacher of Tilka Maji Adibashi Primary School.

Nayak had earlier started open classes on the roadside since the pandemic outbreak in 2020 and also took initiatives to vaccinate the mothers of his students.
Another college teacher and social activist Chandra Sekhar Kundu of Asansol town has engaged local unemployed educated youths to bring back students who left study during this pandemic and teach them.

His organisation FEED has set up altogether 23 such free coaching schools ( Boi Toi Hoi Choi) in Purulia, West Burdwan and South 24 Parganas including Sunderban.
“As of now we have been able to bring over 1200 students back to study. We have engaged 35 local educated youths as teachers. Our effort is to check dropouts and keep the habit of studying,” said Kundu.