Pawar further inform the Upper House that no permission has been given by the NMC to transfer or accommodate any foreign medical students in any Indian medical institute/university…reports Asian Lite News
There is no provision to accommodate or transfer medical students from any foreign medical institutes to Indian medical colleges, the Parliament was told on Tuesday.
“There are no such provisions in Indian Medical Council Act 1956 & National Medical Commission Act, 2019 as well as the regulations to accommodate or transfer medical students from any foreign medical institutes to Indian medical colleges,” Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare Bharti Pravin Pawar told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question of the delay in accommodating those medical students.
In a response to a question raised by CPI MP Binoy Viswam, the MoS Health Bharati Pawar has stated that from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) received information about 20,000 Indian students who have returned from Ukraine.
Foreign Medical Students/Graduates are either covered under “Screening Test Regulations, 2002” or “Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations, 2021”. There are no such provisions in the Indian Medical Council Act 1956 and the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 as well as the Regulations to accommodate or transfer medical students from any foreign medical institutes to Indian medical colleges.
Students who were stranded amid the Russia-Ukraine war, arrive at IGI Airport in New Delhi. (Photo Anupam Gautam_IANS)
Pawar further inform the Upper House that no permission has been given by the NMC to transfer or accommodate any foreign medical students in any Indian medical institute/university.
As per information received from MEA, the Indian Embassy in Kyiv has communicated with all the concerned Universities in Ukraine for providing transcripts and other documents in a smooth manner to the students.
“All details have been provided on the website of the Embassy to assist students to address any related issues'” she added.
The announcement was made against the backdrop of British and Indian business leaders and government representatives gathering in London for the India Global Forum…reports Asian Lite News
The government announced on Wednesday it has partnered with businesses in India to offer 75 fully funded scholarships for Indian students to study in Britain from September to mark the country’s 75th year of Independence.
This is the highest number of fully funded scholarships given by the UK for the one-year master’s programme to date. HSBC, Pearson India, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Sons and Duolingo are among the businesses supporting this special initiative.
The programmes on offer include Chevening scholarships for a one-year master’s programme, with the opportunity to study any subject at any recognised British university.
The British Council in India is offering 18 scholarships for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) – covering more than 12,000 courses across more than 150 UK universities. The British Council is also offering six English scholarships.
HSBC India will sponsor 15 scholarships, Pearson India will sponsor two and Hindustan Unilever, Tata Sons and Duolingo will sponsor one each as part of the 75 scholarships.
The fully funded scholarships include tuition, living expenses and travel cost for a one-year postgraduate programme. A minimum of two years’ work experience is required for candidates to be eligible.
The announcement was made against the backdrop of British and Indian business leaders and government representatives gathering in London for the India Global Forum.
Speaking at the forum, British high commissioner Alex Ellis described the scholarships as a great milestone. “Thanks to the exceptional support from our partners in industry, I am delighted to announce 75 scholarships for Indian students to experience the best of the UK. Nearly 30% of Chevening scholars in India come from smaller cities or are first generation students, making this an increasingly diverse programme,” he said.
HSBC CEO Hitendra Dave said the objective of the “Chevening HSBC Scholarship” is to encourage young people with potential to become leaders and decision-makers by leveraging world class educational facilities.
UK announces 75 scholarships in India’s 75th year of Independence.
The UK government has partnered with leading businesses in India to offer 75 fully funded scholarships for Indian students to study in the UK from September.#IndiaAt75#BritishIndianshttps://t.co/4hMw5newZr
— British Indians Voice 🇮🇳🇬🇧 (@BritIndianVoice) June 30, 2022
During his recent visit to India for a summit meeting, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed the “India/UK Together” programme that promotes cultural ties between the two sides. Education is one of the key pillars of the “living bridge” between the UK and India that connects people.
Nearly 108,000 student visas were issued to Indians in the year ending March 2022, almost double the number compared to the previous year, the British high commission said.
Chevening is the British government’s international awards scheme offered in 150 countries since 1983. India’s Chevening programme is the largest in the world with more than 3,500 alumni.
The state-wise details of minority community students benefitted under scholarship schemes, and free coaching and allied scheme during the last three years and the current year, reveal quite interesting figures…writes Dr. Shujaat Ali Quadri (Freelance journalist and Chairman of Muslim Students Organization of India)
The “Naya Savera” scheme has significantly improved the educational status of minorities, especially Muslims, and they are doing well in competitive examinations for employment and admission. The scheme aims to empower students from minority communities and prepare them for competitive examinations, so as to improve their participation in public and private employment. It provides financial assistance for free coaching to notified minority students in selected coaching institutes.
Under this scheme, the government seeks to empower the minority communities, by assisting the relatively disadvantaged section of the society as well as the institutions working for them, to develop their skills and abilities to make them employable in industries, services and business sectors in national and international markets.
The Government of India wants students to develop the necessary flexibility to adapt to the dynamics of the market on a continuous basis so that they can meet the demands of job opportunities, the changing and emerging market requirements and employment opportunities in both domestically and internationally.
The selected coaching institutes should have record of three years of experience and at least 100 students enrolled which is required at the time of application for the plan. In the last three financial years, there are 19681133 scholarships (Pre-Matric, Post-Matric, Merit-cum-Means based Scholarship Schemes and Begum Hazrat Mahal National Scholarship Scheme) that were sanctioned and 30,117 candidates benefitted under the Naya Savera Scheme.
The state-wise details of minority community students benefitted under scholarship schemes, and free coaching and allied scheme during the last three years and the current year, reveal quite interesting figures.
Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state in terms of Muslim population, has benefited the most. According to the statistics, 9040 students of Uttar Pradesh have been benefitted while 2899 from Karnataka, 2880 from Maharashtra, 2380 from West Bengal, 2260 from Madhya Pradesh, 1700 from Andhra Pradesh, 1550 from Gujarat, 1230 from Kerala, 1150 from Rajasthan, 1000 from Punjab, 950 from Haryana, 400 each from Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu, 378 students from Delhi, 360 from Jharkhand, 350 from Manipur, 340 from Chandigarh, 300 from Meghalaya, 200 each from Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir and 150 students from Assam have been benefitted. The maximum amount was also given to the students of Uttar Pradesh, which is more than Rs 26 lakhs, while Maharashtra was given scholarships worth more than Rs 23 lakhs.
In order to join the ‘Naya Savera’ scheme, the institutes should have the required number of qualified faculty members on their pay rolls or part-time basis, as well as the institutions with the necessary facilities like campus, library, requisite equipment etc. To conduct the coaching classes in the courses applied for the good infrastructure is required.
The government is committed to ensure the benefits to the students, that’s why in the ‘Naya Savera’ scheme, only those coaching institutes are considered eligible, which are working with a minimum success rate of 15%. Its past performance as well as intake and success rate are taken into consideration in the selection.
The ministry had empanelled 130 PIAs across the country including the state of Tamil Nadu during the financial year 2017-18 in which Eligible students can avail the benefits of the scheme from any of the PIAs empanelled under the scheme, irrespective of the region. During the current financial year 2021-22, 37 PIAs have been allocated for providing free coaching to 5140 minority students under the Naya Savera scheme.
In reply to an unstarred question in the Lok Sabha, Minority Welfare Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told the House on 3 February 2022 that the ‘Naya Savera’ scheme is for all the listed minority students. Under this, Group ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ are for the students preparing for service and competitive examinations. The government’s goal is to give the benefit of this scheme to the youth preparing for employment through the examinations of Public Service Commission, Railway, Bank, Insurance and Recruitment Board. Students preparing for admission can also take advantage of this scheme.
Students preparing for the examinations for admission in many vocational education institutions including medical, engineering are also benefiting from the ‘Naya Savera’ scheme. The minister had told that students can take advantage of the scheme by taking coaching from the coaching institute through any PIA. In additional to it, any NGO is allowed to apply in this.The minimum qualification for the institutions applying has been written above.
Naya Savera has heralded a new ray of hope. We are telling the success story of the scheme with a new ray of hope, especially the Muslim youth who have benefited from this scheme.
With this collaboration, Indian students will soon be able to search for asteroids to make a mark in the space stream, she added…reports Archana Sharma
Indian students will get an opportunity to join the ambitious asteroid search campaign soon as the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) has extended an invitation to the Rajasthan government to explore opportunities for setting up a joint India-Brazil asteroid search campaign, said Mugdha Sinha, Secretary in the Department of Science and Technology, Rajasthan.
With this collaboration, Indian students will soon be able to search for asteroids to make a mark in the space stream, she added.
Recently, a five-year-old Brazilian boy had become the youngest child in the world to discover an asteroid. In fact, there were 15 of these celestial bodies that the boy discovered and that has been confirmed by the American space agency, NASA. The asteroid search project is coordinated by NASA with the participation of other institutions around the world. He also received a certificate from IASC and NASA for his discoveries, said Mugdha adding, “You never know that a student from our country will soon hit the headlines and garner laurels by making such discoveries and join the international league of space scientists.”
Speaking exclusively to IANS, Mugdha informed “that on Tuesday, she was invited to participate in the opening ceremony of the 2nd International Seminar on Astronomy and Astronautics promoted by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation from Brazil where the scope for Indian students taking up an asteroid search campaign was discussed.”
“I have had the honour to make my presentation in the context and without any delay, I received the invite while the presentation was on with other guests who were from NASA and other prominent organisations,” she added.
In this presentation, I shared how science needs to be opened up for citizens and how it needs to be promoted via storytelling, workshops, events and a multidisciplinary approach, Mugdha told IANS.
She mentioned about the astro night sky tourism announced in Rajasthan for all 33 districts and said that many states are now keen to launch it following in the footsteps of the desert state.
Soon after her presentation, Patrick Miller, professor of mathematics who teaches introductory astronomy and astronomical research methods at Hardin-Simmons and is the founder of the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC), wrote to Mugdha to explore the opportunities for developing collaborations between Brazil and India so that a new venue can be opened for students to interact via the Internet.
“Perhaps, we can set up joint teams in IASC for a joint India- Brazil asteroid search campaign,” he said in his mail.
Mugdha said we will soon take the discussion forward to ensure our students take the lead and make a mark globally via this initiative.
Rajasthan is the first state working with the International Astronomical Search Collaboration which is run in collaboration with NASA.
Students who were stranded amid the Russia-Ukraine war, arrive at IGI Airport in New Delhi. (Photo Anupam Gautam_IANS)
Students will be offered full assistance, free seats and Scholarship as per merit policy and admission requirements of the University, reports Asian Lite News
Offering a major relief to Indian medical students displaced from Ukrainian universities, the Gulf Medical University (GMU) is prepared to accommodate the displaced students with free seats and scholarship based on merit criteria and admission policies of the University.
This effort aims to ensure that the education is not interrupted for students who are affected, the GMU said in a statement.
The GMU said it aims to help students make well-informed decisions regarding their remainder course, assistance in paperwork and smooth transfer.
Thumbay Moideen
“As an Indian it becomes my duty to help our fellow Indians during this difficult situation, we trying to help secure the dreams and future of several displaced students,” said Dr. Thumbay Moideen, Founder President of Thumbay Group & President – Board of Trustees, Gulf Medical University – Ajman, UAE.
Founded in the year 1998, GMU is owned and managed by the multi-business conglomerate Thumbay Group –a widely renowned institution, which offers its students access to state-of-the-art medical education, healthcare, and research in addition to clinical training through various academic health centres, including Thumbay University Hospital, Thumbay Dental Hospital and Thumbay Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Hospitals located in the Campus. The Group also owns and manages 8 Hospitals, 10 Clinics, 48 Pharmacies and 5 Labs under the Healthcare Division.
The initiative aims to offer free seats and scholarship support to displaced students from Ukraine, ensuring an opportunity to pursue education at GMU upon fulfilling the merit criteria and admission policies. Recognising these students as vital contributors to the future of healthcare delivery, GMU would like to focus on ensuring that there is no gap in their education. Students can directly communicate with director of admissions, Sherly Koshy, and mail their documents to helpline@gmu.ac.ae with their credentials.
Over the last 24 years, GMU has scaled new heights by fostering brilliance to over 2600 students plus 2000 part time from more than 90 different nationalities and 29 accredited Undergraduate and Graduate programs run by the 6 constituent colleges in the field medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, biomedical sciences, healthcare management and economics, anesthesia technology, medical laboratory sciences, physiotherapy and healthcare management and economics.
In addition, the university also offers short term certificate courses for health workforce development and career enhancement.
The university’s Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) Programme outcome is aligned to the World Federation of Medical Education (WFME) standards, the Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences Programme is accredited by the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS), UK and PharmD Programme is certified by Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), USA.
Furthermore, the university-affiliated teaching hospital is JCI accredited, and laboratories are CAP accredited. The national, international, and regional engagements exceed 70 collaborations with leading international universities in Europe, US, Japan, Malaysia and Far East.
For more information on various programs students can visit the university website www.gmu.ac.ae.
Hungary offers to continue studies
Hungarian Universities have offered to foreign students whose studies were disrupted by the Russian military operation in Ukraine to continue their studies in Hungary.
“Hungary is offering foreign students who escaped #UkraineRussianWar (India, Nigeria, other African countries) to continue their studies at Hungarian universities,” tweeted Dr Attila Demko, the head of Hungary’s Centre for Geopolitics.
“All third-country refugees (mostly Africans) were accepted without problems and repatriated if they wished so,” Demko added in his Sunday tweet.
TheChief Justice asked the AG to look into the contents of the petitions and “see if something could be done”…reports Asian Lite News
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Attorney General K.K. Venugopal to look into a petition seeking evacuation of Indian students stranded in the war-torn Ukraine.
The petitioner’s counsel submitted that his client with 250 other students from National Medical University in Odessa, Ukraine, are stranded near the Ukraine-Romania border and they are facing issues crossing over to Romania.
The counsel submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana that students are stranded amid freezing temperatures, and struggling to access food and water.
The AG asked the petitioner’s counsel why his client and others are struggling to cross the Ukrainian border, what is the hindrance? He added that the Indian ministers have gone to the neighbouring countries of Ukraine to coordinate the evacuation process of Indians stuck in the war-torn country.
The AG asked, “Why are they not crossing over?”
The counsel replied, “They are not allowed to cross over (the Ukrainian border)”.
The AG pressed that Ukraine is allowing Indians to cross over to neighbouring countries. The counsel added that flights are only operating from Poland and Hungary.
The Chief Justice asked the AG to look into the contents of the petitions and “see if something could be done”.
Earlier, during the day the top court had told the counsel that the court feels bad for the people who are suffering and the Indian students, who are stuck in Ukraine amid the ongoing war, but it cannot direct the Russian President to stop the war.
A plea was mentioned before a bench headed by the Chief Justice claiming that the Indian government is only focussing on evacuating students from a certain part of Ukraine.
The counsel submitted that students are stranded in other parts of the war-torn country. The bench, also comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and Hima Kohli, said “What can the court do?… Can we issue a direction to the President of Russia to stop the war?”
The counsel further added that these students should also be evacuated and the government should also provide care for them. The bench asked the counsel, “Ask, which government to take care?”
The bench said it has all sympathies with the students in Ukraine, and the Indian government is doing its work. The bench added that it will seek the Attorney General’s view in the matter.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday: “Our Embassy in Ukraine is in continuous touch with Indian nationals in Ukraine… We have requested support from the Ukrainian authorities in arranging special trains for taking out students from Kharkiv and neighbouring areas to the western part of the country.
“We have been coordinating effectively with the countries in the region, including Russia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova. A large number of Indian nationals have been evacuated from Ukraine in the last few days.
The MEA officials will arrive in Moldova by Monday morning to facilitate border crossing…reports Asian Lite News
India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Sunday said that more than 1,000 Indian students have been evacuated so far and more will be airlifted by Monday via neighbouring countries of Ukraine.
Briefing the media here, he said that till now four flights have come back with Indian students and two are likely to depart tonight or by tomorrow morning to evacuate more students. “The Government of India has launched ‘multi-pronged’ Operation Ganga to evacuate our citizens stranded in Ukraine. This evacuation process will be at government cost,” he said.
He also said that the Indian Embassy in Kiev and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had issued a number of advisories prior to the start of war. Four thousand of our nationals had left before the conflict began, pursuant to these advisories. “We estimated that about 15,000 citizens were left in Ukraine,” he added.
Noting that since the airspace in Ukraine was closed, the Foreign Secretary further said, “We have identified land evacuation options from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania wherein the specific border crossing points have been identified and the MEA had deployed teams to assist in the evacuation process.”
Admitting that border crossing to Hungary and Romania is functioning, however, the exit point to Poland is choked due to lakhs of foreign nationals trying to escape from that point. Those who are near the borders of Hungary and Romania are guided towards their border points in phases. He also said that the MEA officials have advised the stranded Indians to move towards westward to reach Uzhhorod in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary and from there they can take a train to reach the Romanian capital Bucharest and from there they will be airlifted.
He also said that a hotline facility has been set up at the Indian Embassies in Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania and the numbers have been flashed in advisories, on the website and social media handles of the Ministry. This will work as an interface between the Indians there and the officials engaged in the evacuation process.
The Foreign Secretary also informed that the Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar has spoken to his counterparts in Hungary and Moldova seeking their support in evacuation of Indian nationals. The MEA officials will arrive in Moldova by Monday morning to facilitate border crossing.
Listing out the flights planned for evacuation for Indians via neighbouring countries, Shringla said that a total of nine flights were planned by the government through the civil aviation ministry via Bucharest and three via Budapest. Out of these 12 flights, five have come back with Indians so far.
Responding to a question, Shringla also said that a First Secretary level officer in the Indian embassy in Moscow has been asked to make arrangements for stay of Indian evacuees once the situation at the Russian border eases. Right now it is a conflict zone, therefore the evacuation cannot be from the Ukraine-Russian border.
“I called up both ambassadors of Russia & Ukraine separately, conveyed my concerns on the safety of Indian citizens. I shared the locations where Indian citizens are concentrated. Both ambassadors took note of our concerns & assured us of the safety of Indian citizens,” the Foreign Secretary added.
Priya, one of the students, said Indian students were stranded in Ukraine and needed help…reports Asian Lite News
A group of 21 Indian students of Chernivtsi National University are still stranded in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. The students are afraid as they have been told that local authorities have issued a shoot at sight order as the Russia-Ukraine war has escalated.
Of the 21 students, 11 are girls and 10 boys are stranded at Chernivtsi.
Girl students were also harassed and beaten by Ukrainian Police guards.
Priya, one of the students, said Indian students were stranded in Ukraine and needed help.
“For the last four days, we have been eating only three to four spoons of rice. Now the Embassy has asked us to board a train at our own risk to move out of the town. We somehow reached Chernivtsi and have spent nearly Rs 2.5 lakh so far. No train was available and we are losing hope,” she told.
She narrated the ordeal, saying Indian students were stranded on the roads.
She said Indian students like her were running out of money, food and now their lives were also at risk.
“We are roaming on the road and can meet with any fate. We need help,” she told while requesting to make arrangements for any kind of help.
The students also shared a video narrating how they travelled to Kiev, Lviv, Dnipro and reached Chernivtsi. They said no one was ready to help them out and were unable to cross the border as it was shut down by 8 p.m.
The students want the urgent intervention of the Union Ministry of External Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office to save their lives.
The Indian government has launched ‘Operation Ganga’ and as of now have sent four flights to bring students back to India. The fourth flight was sent on Sunday afternoon.
India’s Constitution guarantees a person the freedom to practise their religion as a fundamental right, subject to certain restrictions. In the past, the courts have held that the right to wear a hijab would fall under the protections guaranteed by the Constitution, reports Asian Lite News
For the past three weeks, six Muslim students at the government-run Pre-University College for Girls in Karnataka’s Udupi have been denied entry into their classes because they wear hijabs.
The college claims that the headscarf violates the institution’s dress code. They have asked the girls to stop wearing the hijab if they want entry into class.
The students have been protesting this move. They claim that this violates their freedom of religion.
India’s Constitution guarantees a person the freedom to practise their religion as a fundamental right, subject to certain restrictions. In the past, the courts have held that the right to wear a hijab would fall under the protections guaranteed by the Constitution.
Here is what the courts have said when deciding on similar matters.
Article 25(1) of the Constitution guarantees the “freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion”. However, like all fundamental rights, this is not absolute. The government can regulate it on grounds of public order, morality, health and other provisions in the fundamental rights chapter of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court has, over the years, held that the Constitution would only protect “essential religious practices”. Courts, after consulting religious texts and experts, determine whether a practice is essential or integral to a religion, and therefore, needs constitutional protection.
Similar cases about students wearing hijabs have already come before the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court. Both these concerned the code for the All India Pre-Medical Entrance Test, which set a prescribed range clothing items to curb cheating prevent candidates from concealing study materials. This meant that Muslim students would not be able to wear hijabs or long-sleeve dresses.
In response, students petitioned the Kerala High Court, both in 2015 and 2016. On both occasions, the court allowed the students to take the exam while wearing hijabs.
What does the Quran say?
In 2016, the Kerala High Court examined the Quran and the Hadith (the teachings of Prophet Mohammad) to see if wearing a hijab and long-sleeved dress is essential to the faith of a Muslim woman. It held that an analysis of these texts showed that covering the head and wearing long-sleeved dress is a religious duty. Exposing the body otherwise is forbidden. Thus, this forms an “essential part of the Islamic religion”.
The court noted that this manner of dressing does not offend public order, morality or health, nor does it hamper other fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
The court added that since there may be legitimate concerns of cheating as a result of this manner of clothing, a female invigilator could frisk the candidates. To facilitate this, it asked the candidates wearing hijabs to arrive half an hour before the scheduled time.
The previous year, in 2015, the Kerala High Court had dealt with a similar case. It arrived at the same conclusion. It noted that in a diverse country like India, “it cannot be insisted that a particular dress code be followed failing which a student would be prohibited from sitting for the examinations”.
In 2016, the Supreme Court heard a plea by a Muslim man who wanted to wear a beard while serving in the Indian Air Force. The service regulations stated that no Armed Forces personnel are allowed to have facial hair except if their religion prohibits the cutting or shaving of hair. The court, during the hearings, asked Salman Khurshid, a senior advocate, if Islam prohibits cutting of hair or shaving of facial hair. Khurshid said that there were varying interpretations, out of which one said that it is “desirable” to have a beard.
The court did not allow the man to keep his beard, saying that no proof was placed before it to show that his religion prohibited shaving. In addition to this, the court observed that the object and purpose of regulating personal appearance is to “ensure uniformity, cohesiveness, discipline and order” which are indispensable to the armed forces.
However, this was in the context of the armed forces. The Constitution carves out a specific exception, under Article 33, which says that the Parliament can modify the application of fundamental rights to members of the armed forces to ensure proper discharge of their duties and maintain discipline among them.
Religion in schools
The courts have also dealt with cases where students have been expelled from schools for following their religious practices. In 1985, three students, belonging to the Christian sect of Jehovah’s Witnesses were expelled from school after they refused to sing the national anthem. They argued that this went against their religious faith.
The students contended that their faith did not permit them to followed any rituals except praying to God. However, they stood up to show their respect for the national anthem.
The Supreme Court held that the expulsion violated the student’s freedom of expression and their right to practise religion. The court noted that even though the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses may appear unusual, “the sincerity of their beliefs is beyond question”.
Further, the court said that there was no law that mandated the singing of the national anthem. The Constitution only mentions that all Indian citizens should respect the national anthem, which the students did by standing up for it.
He explained that it was tough for them to teach the students online when the students had no way of attending online classes…reports Asian Lite News
When the lockdown was first imposed in 2020, studies came to an abrupt halt for 12-year-old Sakshi Shukla, a sixth-grader in a government English-medium primary school in Durawal Khurd village of Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra district. There was only one smartphone in her family, which belonged to her father. And he carried it wherever he went, meaning the phone was never available for her online classes.
Most of her classmates did not have even the one phone. The village, whose residents are primarily engaged in farming or work as labourers, also has very low internet connectivity.
So for 11-year-old Suraj Chauhan, the lockdown and school closures left him feeling completely disconnected from his studies. No one in his family had a smartphone and there was no one around to teach him.
Initially, Suraj tried to study by himself with the textbooks he had. “But I began losing interest in my studies. I missed school where I used to study and play with my friends,” said Suraj, who is now in 6th grade.
Suraj’s father, Suresh (34), is a daily wage labourer and lives in a kutcha house with his family of four children, his wife and his parents. He earns around Rs 4,000 a month. “It’s a village. We don’t get work every day. It is tough to run a house with so little money, but I don’t have a choice. How can I afford a smartphone and internet recharges monthly?” questioned Suresh.
The primary school of Durawal Khurd has about 150 students. “We had only 30 parents on our parents and teachers WhatsApp group. This shows the availability of smartphones and internet connectivity in the village,” said Raj Kumar Singh, the headmaster of the school.
He explained that it was tough for them to teach the students online when the students had no way of attending online classes.
“We could have left the students disconnected from their studies, stating the reason that their families had no smartphones or internet connectivity. But, we as teachers have the responsibility to provide education to our students and help make life better for them. That is why we came up with an idea called mohalla classes,” said the headmaster.
These are classes conducted with the help of a few educated volunteers in the village who have smartphones, and who can be guided by the teachers.
Your friendly neighbourhood school
These classes have been hugely successful in keeping the students engaged in studies during the pandemic and the government has replicated this initiative throughout the state. With apps like Diksha and Read Along, students are now learning with ease. “The apps were launched by the government but the teachers and volunteers taught us how to use them for studies, which was very helpful. Now we learn various stories, poems and other things from the apps,” said a happy Sakshi.
For the mohalla classes, the teachers of the school found a few educated people from the village who had smartphones and internet connectivity. The primary school teachers trained 10 such volunteers, including women, from the village. Kamlesh Kumar, who is a teacher in the school said that the volunteers, also known as Prerna Sathi or ‘inspiration partner’, have all at least passed their intermediate exams. The teachers trained them to teach the students and also guided them to follow Covid safety protocols. The teachers also created nine locations or centres where the students and the mohalla class teachers gathered for studies.
“We would share online study materials to these trained volunteers and they, in turn, taught the students for at least one hour every day, in the mohalla classes. We made sure that social distancing was followed, masks were worn and sanitiser use was practised during the mohalla classes. Even the school teachers would visit the village’s mohalla class centres to teach the students,” explained Singh.
Overcoming reluctance
Initially, when the volunteers tried to convince students to join a mohalla class, there was reluctance. “The idea was not appreciated as something special or unique. Moreover, parents were scared that the children could get infected by the coronavirus. But when they soon saw students gathering one by one, all the students began taking it seriously and enjoyed the mohalla class sessions,” said Seekha Shukla, a 32-year-old Bachelor of Arts graduate and a mother of two who is one of the mohalla class volunteers.
Initially, even the volunteers were scared of infections. “But if we would not come forward, who would teach the children from families that did not have smartphones? Moreover, we were following all Covid safety protocols,” said Shukla.
“Disconnection from education, even if it is for three to four months, can make children forget what they have learnt. Imagine how much they would have lagged behind if they were not engaged in education through any means,” said Rajesh Kumar (30), a mohalla class volunteer who moved back to his village from Maharashtra before the first lockdown was imposed.
The teachers of the primary school stay far away from the school and the village. But they would often visit the mohalla classes to meet the students and guide the volunteers. “It was risky because all our teachers stay more than 10 kilometres away from the village. We would always be worried that the students, who are between five and 12 years of age, would get infected by the coronavirus because of us. But education disconnection is also risky for the children’s future. We chose to risk our health, but it was a mindful and conscious risk,” stated Anil Kumar Singh, a teacher.
A success story
The unique initiative of mohalla classes ensured that the students continued their education during the several months that the school was shut. The students and parents alike are elated at the success of the initiative and extremely thankful to the teachers and volunteers for it.
Singh believes that the initiative has been a saviour for students during the lockdown. “Although it was not as effective as school classrooms because we would have less time in mohalla classes, we are happy that the students are as versed as they were before the lockdown was imposed,” he said.
Singh said that if the mohalla classes were not conducted, parents may have engaged their girls in other home chores. “It is the village people’s mentality that boys are given more importance in education than girls. This could have ruined girls’ education during the lockdown but mohalla classes came to their rescue. The mohalla classes saved many girls from discontinuing their education,” he stressed.
“Our children were not away from education and hence they did not forget what they have learnt. The teachers could have shrugged their shoulders as we had no smartphones and internet, but they fulfilled their responsibility. I am very grateful for this to the teachers,” said Ratneshwari Devi (33), a parent of one of the students of the primary school.
When the officials noticed the benefits of the mohalla class initiative, it was launched officially across the state. “We are thankful to the officials for noticing our work and launching our model across the state. This shows how successful and beneficial our mohalla classes were for the students, especially for those who had no smartphones and internet connectivity,” exclaimed Singh with pride.
Safeena Husain, Founder of Educate Girls, highlights, “Mohalla classes, also called community-based learning, not only helped children stay in touch with education but also helped maintain their social connections during the lockdown. It has definitely helped in curbing incidences of domestic abuse and violence against children to a certain extent.” She added, “These marginalised children have also learnt to safeguard themselves with proper sanitisation practices, which has been another learning for them.”
