When I visited Leh this summer, my younger brother, a 2nd-year undergraduate Economics Honours student from Hansraj College, Delhi University, had a request. He wanted my help to draft a letter to his teachers and principal detailing his concerns about online classes.

(Photo above: For representational purposes only)

A resident of Leh, Ladakh, where broadband internet connection is poor, attending online classes is a serious problem for him. He can’t see the blackboard, the teacher’s voice keeps breaking and he gets ejected from the class every now and then because of poor connectivity.

He even raised these issues with his teachers and the college principal but to no avail. They’ve told him that there is nothing they can do.

We don’t come from an unprivileged family, but as a resident of a hilly border region, attending online classes is a tough ask. The video keeps buffering, while the audio quality dances. Even when the audio is clear, some teachers choose not to make a PPT but instead write remarks on the blackboard behind them, which my brother couldn’t see.

“Sometimes, I would be ejected right before the class would end and miss out on attendance. If I have to give a test, I would have to go to the Leh Bazaar and find a cafe where a steady internet connection was occasionally available. On top of that, they made us do presentations online, which was a near impossibility considering the poor internet connection available at home,” says my brother over the phone earlier this week.

“For the most part, my teachers were understanding. But they said there was little they could do about the situation, adding that it was up to the Delhi University to do something. Even though teachers had promised me that they would send video recordings of their classes, I have not received a single one despite regularly following up with them. I kept calling them because I was worried about my attendance, following which they asked me to send a formal email listing out my concerns to the principal and all my teachers which I did. Even then no one replied. When I called them up again they admitted to receiving it but didn’t feel compelled to send a reply,” adds another 2nd year DU student from the Northeast, requesting anonymity.

This student is brutally honest in his assessment that virtually little to no learning is happening during these online classes.

“Most of the tests given are pointless because everyone is cheating. It’s so easy to cheat. Even though I feel bad about cheating, what would you prefer? Get 30/30 or bad marks? Our CGPA matters to us. There is no learning. How can you learn when the teacher is so far away,” he says.

Isn’t it unfair that students like my younger brother from border/hilly/remote areas are missing out because of inadequate internet connection? Despite the unique circumstances resulting from COVID-19, students like my brother shouldn’t be denied a college education because of where their homes are.

More importantly, however, this points to the stark digital divide that exists in this country and the inability of varsities to address these concerns. While my brother and the student from the Northeast have laptops, other students from marginalised communities and low-income families don’t even have exclusive access to laptops, smartphones or tablets. Moreover, these students simply cannot afford adequate internet connectivity.

Take the tragic example of Aishwarya Reddy, a gifted undergraduate mathematics student of the prestigious Lady Shri Ram (LSR) College, Delhi, who died by suicide earlier this month.

In a sorrowful suicide letter, this daughter of a mechanic wrote, “My family has been spending a lot of money on me. I am a burden for them. My studies are a burden. But I cannot live without my studies. I have been contemplating this for days. I think that suicide is my only resort.”

As per reports in the Huffington Post, a students’ union survey in LSR stated “close to 30% of LSR’s students did not have a laptop of their own, while 40% were attending online classes without a proper internet connection.”

Moreover, “92% of the students who did not have laptops felt that LSR had failed to help them with resources. 96% felt the college should record its live online lectures, to ensure students without proper internet connections could access the archived study materials. 96% of students said that online classes had affected their mental and physical health.”

These findings were shared with LSR principal back in September, but the college’s response to the survey’s findings was nothing short of apathetic. They didn’t even do the bare minimum of recording their live lectures and making them available to students.

LSR or Hansraj College are not the sole guilty party here. Many varsities, particularly in the public sector, have made little effort to assess whether their students have access to essential equipment like laptops and a functional broadband internet connection.

Aishwarya, for example, suffered from the same. She had no stable internet connection, laptop or a functional smartphone, as per the students’ union survey (which frankly the college should have conducted). She had about 5 to 8 hours of classes a day, “but her mobile connection data-pack allowed her to attend less than three hours of class a day. In her survey, she said she was forced to buy additional data packs just to attend class,” reports Huffington Post.

Moreover, the college failed to send the necessary study material. Then there is the gender aspect to this problem with young girls often asked to take up a share of the domestic responsibilities at home. This eats into their study time.

The hammer blow, however, came when in October she was asked to vacate her hostel room because accommodation was reserved for first-year students only.

Just take a look at the statistics, which something public varsities around the country should have at least acknowledged before making the drastic shift to online classes.

As per the National Sample Survey report on Social Consumption Expenditure (2017-18), only 23.8 per cent of Indian households have access to the internet. This figure drops to 12.5 per cent taking into account households with students who have access to the internet.

Quacquarelli Symonds (2020) reported that more than half of the people with fixed broadband internet had poor connectivity at home. For those who use mobile internet, approximately 40.2 per cent suffer from poor connection, 56.6 per cent face signal issues, while 3.2 are at the mercy of power issues.

Finally, a University of Hyderabad survey revealed that only half of their students have laptops, while only a quarter has access to adequate internet connectivity. This, the survey claims, has affected their attendance levels.

Solutions

The aspirations and futures of millions of young Indians are at stake here. There are solutions that already exist in this country. In a column for the Times of India, Prachi Windlass, Director of Education for the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, writes:

“Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and Jharkhand — states that were already working towards school transformation —swiftly directed their teachers to form WhatsApp groups to help parents and students transition to a #GharPeSchool model, and are supporting their schools with daily calendars mapped to student learning competencies, and guidelines for structured 1:1 weekly phone interactions between teachers and students.”

What are the results of these actions that leverage a familiar platform like WhatsApp?

“In Rajasthan, more than 20,000 WhatsApp groups cover 95 per cent of schools and their students and parents. When user surveys were shared along with learning content in Rajasthan, 39,000 parents completed them without any nudge, and more than 90% of users — including students, parents, and teachers — responded positively. Himachal Pradesh reported close to two lakh users, with more than three million page views on learning resources within three days of the launch of the initiative,” she writes.

Meanwhile, there are solutions which other countries have taken up. African nations like Rwanda and Kenya have waived internet charges for students. Countries like Bhutan, meanwhile, are offering 60 per cent additional data on their existing package. In other words, a student receives 60 per cent extra data for the same price.

South Africa, Argentina and Jamaica are offering what they call zero-rated educational websites. Basically, telecommunication companies provide free access to educational websites to students. Countries like Argentina and Jamaica have even gone on to distribute learning kits for students with no internet access and partnered up with internet service providers to subsidise internet plans for students from income families.

Nations like the Dominican Republic have created free Wi-Fi hotspots across different locations for students, while Ecuador and El Salvador have begun sharing study resource material in the audio format for students.

There are also multiple ways of leveraging television and radio as well. Remote learning has to be made simple. Using platforms familiar to students and parents like WhatsApp helps them ease into the process of remote learning.

Finally, it’s criminal how public varsities are not entering into serious partnerships with a plethora of ed-tech startups and companies in this country who are doing serious work in school education.

There is no question college students in India like my brother are struggling to cope with the disruption the pandemic has caused to their education. Unfortunately, their voices aren’t being heard or taken seriously.

The tragic suicide of Aishwarya should be a wake-up call for governments and public varsities to do more in seriously addressing the concerns of vulnerable students.

When I read about Aishwarya’s suicide, it shook me hard because in some way it reminded me of my brother’s predicament. Fortunately, my parents and I earn enough to ensure that my brother doesn’t have to worry about the things Aishwarya did. But our education system must ensure that what happened to her doesn’t happen to anyone else.

It’s time to act before we lose more precious young lives.

(Edited by Vinayak Hegde)

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Coronavirus has deeply impacted each of us. The virus has taken many lives of many and dramatically changed many others, perhaps forever. COVID-19 also changed the lives of students completely. And while for many it was simply a matter of sitting at home. For many others, it was perhaps an end of many dreams.

But today we meet a police officer, who turned into a teacher, to ensure some students, the children of migrant labourers, keep renewing their hopes and dreams.

Have you ever given a thought about whether students have access to online classes and learning? What about students who are unable to afford a laptop or a mobile phone for online classes? Sub-inspector Shantappa Jademmanavar has an answer for these questions – at least for some students in Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru.

Every day, before heading to work, the policeman teaches students for almost two hours. Many may wonder what subjects a police officer could teach. Well, you’d be surprised to know he teaches Vedic Maths, General Knowledge, Science and Moral Values. Shantappa Jademmanavar spoke to The Better India (TBI) and said, “I feel education is an effective and efficient tool for empowerment. I am a migrant labourer’s child, and I know the difficulties a migrant child would face. The whole teaching plan struck me when I saw students roaming on the roads, not attending classes. I was completely broken to see this plight. I understood that these students were not receiving any education from their parents, as both of them worked as migrant workers to take care of the other necessities of the house.”

The 30-year-old officer used to teach students in an open space with a blackboard. Nowadays, he has switched to a whiteboard, though the lessons remain the same. The sub-inspector said that many sponsors had already gotten in touch with him to help the students. The officer makes sure he gets the best for them. Now the students have solar lights at their sheds, along with clothes and food.

“I teach students from Kindergarten to High School. My students have sponsors, and they are provided with books, bags, solar lights and many other things,” he added.

Speaking to TBI, a migrant worker said, “My daughter is attending classes. She is happy to learn there. I am an illiterate, and I thought my daughter would also be the same. I don’t have a paisa to afford her education. But now things have changed, and our family is also happy about her education.”

Interestingly, the cop policeman has a habit of ‘naming’ the students. If one is called ‘Mahatma Gandhi’, another is known as ‘BR Ambedkar’, and yet another is ‘Udham Singh’.

“One day, my students will become as famous as our leaders. So I like to call them by those names,” he tells TBI with a laugh.

“Sometimes, I find I cannot even recall their actual names as I call them with the names of renowned persons. I am sure that my students will emerge as great souls in the future,” he said.

“My sir calls me Mahatma Gandhi and I love to be called that. I sometimes feel I’ll be as famous as Gandhi Ji when I grow up,” confirmed a student of Shantappa.

Another student said, “I feel so happy to be a student. If Sir comes even five minutes late to class, we students feel sad. I have my own book and pencils which I didn’t have for many years. I hope that in some days, I’ll also be able to see and join a normal school because I love to learn and I want more education.”

With the help of a lady doctor, the policeman also conducted awareness sessions for girl students. “I can happily say that my students now use sanitary pads and have a better life. Many of the students didn’t even know how to use sanitary pads as their parents are illiterate. But now, they are aware of basic hygiene and sanitation. I can proudly say that I have done the best for my students by all means possible,” said Shantappa.

(Edited Vinayak Hegde)

Cracked tiles, wall paint chipping off, showing its withering state over the years, and no light bulbs. Such is the dilapidated state of the toilets inside the Zilla Parishad Primary school in Lonvadi village of Yavatmal district in Maharashtra. Located in the remote village of Pusad Taluka, the school has been struggling to gather funds to repair its toilets for over a decade now.

“We have tried multiple ways to collect funds but haven’t received enough to complete the task,” says Suresh Ingale, an assistant teacher at the school.

The teacher, who has been with the school since 2005, says the school was initially under the jurisdiction of the Gram Panchayat. “In 2009, the administration of the school was taken over by the Zilla Parishad. The officials then promised to repair the toilets before it was handed over. But that never happened,” Suresh recalls.

Toilets That Need Help

The school has about 30 students with just two toilets — one for boys and the other for girls. The seats inside the toilets have been damaged beyond repair.

Suresh adds that the girls usually go in pairs to relieve themselves in the woods. “It is unsafe, and they also lose out on their lectures during that time. Add to that, there are animals, which often scare the students,” he says.

The teacher says funds have been sought from the Gram Panchayat and other bodies, but they were spent on maintaining the school facilities.

“We have received amounts like Rs 5,000 and Rs 2,000 on occasions. But those were spent to repair the electricity supply, building a safety wall around the school and other maintenance work,” Suresh says. The government funds under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan scheme was not received. And so the repair work has stopped, Suresh adds.

In a video shared by the teacher, Nisha Ingale, a class V student, says, “I live about a kilometre away from the school. I like attending classes and learning, but the toilet is in poor condition, which makes it difficult to study there.”

Getting The Funds

Amol Sainkar, president of Shiv Prabha Charitable Trust, has now decided to take the responsibility of the repair work.

“We have estimated that funds of Rs 70,000 are needed for the two toilets. The toilet is 8 feet by 4 feet for which Rs 4,000 will be required to retile the floor. About Rs 12,000 is the estimated cost for plumbing, repairing leakages and other broken works,” Amol says.

The social worker says that around Rs 8,000 is the estimated cost for fixing the roof and brickwork. “There will be no painting needed as a cheaper solution has been worked out,” he adds.

Amol says that donations from people could help give a better infrastructure for the students. If you would like to contribute to this cause, please click on this link.

Students at the Government Degree College in Mendhar Tehsil, Poonch district, Jammu and Kashmir, are often disturbed by sounds of shelling and firing across the Line of Control (LoC).

“Our college is barely 2.5 km away from the LoC. The situation on the border could escalate at any time and as a result schools and colleges would close because of cross-border shelling and firing-related episodes. Such disturbances would plant seeds of doubt in the mind of students and often drive them away from academic pursuits,” says Zahir Abbas, an alumnus of the college, who is today pursuing his PhD in nanotechnology at IIT Indore.

So, how did Zahir overcome these disturbances and find the motivation to pursue a life of academic research? The answer lies with Dr Shakeel Ahmed, a professor of chemistry at the Government Degree College in Mendhar Tehsil, who passed up opportunities to teach at the IITs and instead helped students, like Zahir, who live close to the border. He hopes to motivate his students to pursue a career in scientific research.

Recently included in Stanford University’s list of the top 2% scientists in the world, Dr Shakeel is an exception as most of the 2,313 Indians who made it to the list were from the IITs and IISc. The 31-year-old is also a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Chemical Society.

Overcoming the odds

Born in the remote village of Dhangri in Rajouri district, Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Shakeel was barely a year old when his father passed away.

“I was the youngest of seven siblings. When my father passed away, my mother, a housewife, had to take up all the financial responsibilities that came with raising us. It was a real struggle for my mother. She started labouring in other people’s fields and stitching clothes to make ends meet. Meanwhile, my siblings and I would help her in rearing the household goats and sheep. We are from the nomadic Gujjar community,” Dr Shakeel tells The Better India.

Fortunately, he was an exceptionally bright student who first studied at the local village school. From there, he went on to study chemistry at the Government Degree College, Rajouri, for his Bachelor of Science (BSc) before heading to Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi for his MSc and PhD. After his PhD, he was awarded the prestigious National Post Doctoral Fellowship and made his way to IIT Delhi.

“All through my education, I was fortunate enough to study on scholarships that took care of tuition and hostel fees. After my MSc, I cleared my NET exam and became eligible for the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF). All expenses for my PhD were taken care of by the JRF. The struggle to pursue an education in this part of the world was immense. Despite being a bright student, I struggled with not just financial issues, but even access to libraries. I also didn’t have anyone to guide me on how I could further my career,” he recalls.

After a couple of months as a National Post Doctoral Fellow at IIT-Delhi, he had the opportunity to be appointed as an assistant professor there. But after a couple of months, he resigned from the fellowship and joined the Government Degree College in Mendhar as a professor. He is the only one among the two chemistry faculty members in the college.

Changing Course

This is his first posting as an employee with the Higher Education Department in Jammu and Kashmir. He is subject to a transfer to any government college in the area. Usually, postings last about two years, but he has been teaching here since April 2017.

Speaking about giving up a career to teach at a prestigious institution like IIT Delhi, he says, “I decided to go back so that the youth won’t have to face the kind of situation I did. Considering how difficult it was for me to study growing up, I always wanted to come back home and help students from these very remote areas close to the LoC. Nearly 99% of the students here come from surrounding villages. Students here don’t have the sort of opportunities like they do in Delhi or other major cities. I came back to educate and guide the youth so that they may fulfil their desires and go for further education in science. Most people from my part of the world who finish school don’t pursue higher education and end up in the Middle East as labourers.”

“Dr. Shakeel makes a genuine effort to reach out to every student, guide them and help them understand how they can overcome financial constraints through scholarships,” says Zahir.

More interestingly, however, he has got students in college genuinely interested in chemistry.

“Students pursuing science here didn’t really choose chemistry as their subject of choice. I was in my fifth semester when he first came to teach. Before I met him, I had little interest in chemistry and had no idea I would pursue my higher studies in this subject. I had the impression that chemistry was a really difficult subject. However, when Shakeel sir started teaching us, he changed our perception, taught us the magic behind it and helped us understand that we could actually obtain admission into quality institutions to study it further. He took time to explain the plethora of job opportunities available if we pursued higher education in chemistry,” recalls Zahir.

In his first year, Dr Shakeel barely had 20 students. But thanks to his classes, teaching methods and how he generated a lot of interest around the subject, the following year saw his class blooming to over 100 students with half of them consisting of women.

“After teaching the relevant material on the blackboard, he would give us problems to solve. He would ask every student whether we understood a particular concept or not and that’s what I really liked about his teaching method. He taught us with so much love and established such a close bond with us. While I got accepted into multiple PhD programs across different IITs and CSIR Labs, three other students from my batch also ended up completing their MSc. But they are now studying for the civil services examination,” he adds.

Going beyond the syllabus

Even till this day, both Dr Shakeel and Zahir maintain regular contact with each other. Zahir continues to seek regular advice on career and life-related decisions.

Beyond teaching and motivating his students, Dr Shakeel continues to power through with his research work, which is focussed on biodegradable food packaging material.

Dr Shakeel still goes back to IIT Delhi and Jamia during his vacations, where he is given access to labs and leads collaborative research efforts thanks to his teachers there because the government college has no quality research facilities.

“In this backward area, we don’t have the necessary financial support or the infrastructure to carry out research since setting up these state of the art labs can cost crores. I can carry out some of my research work at the chemistry lab here, but key experiments are conducted in IIT Delhi and Jamia. In the meantime, however, I have published 20 reference books and over 30 research papers in reputed international journals on polymer chemistry,” he claims.

His next objective is to establish an NGO through which he can work with other teachers to help educate, guide and counsel the students in these remote border areas.

“I have asked Shakeel sir so many times about why he gave up a comfortable career to teach here. His answer to me has always been that he wants to serve the people of Pir Panjal and Jammu and Kashmir. What we lack in infrastructure and facilities, Shakeel sir does his absolute best to make up for it in teaching and motivating us,” says Zahir.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

IIT Kanpur is offering two new free online courses on data science.
Essentials of Data Science With R Software – 1: Probability and Statistical Inference and Essentials of Data Science With R Software – 2: Sampling Theory and Linear Regression Analysis are the two courses being offered.

Things to know:

• This is a two-part course being offered by IIT Kanpur.
• The course is absolutely free of charge.
• The course is being conducted by Dr Shalabh, who is a Professor of Statistics at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.
• His research areas of interest are linear models, regression analysis and econometrics, and the professor has conducted several workshops on statistics for teachers, researchers and practitioners.
• Both courses offered by IIT Kanpur will be for a duration of 12 weeks.
• This course will be open to undergraduates and postgraduates.
• Those candidates who wish to appear for the examination and receive a certificate will have to pay Rs 1000.
• Only e-certificates will be dispatched. No hard copy will be sent out.
• To enrol for the courses, click here.

What will you learn?

Part 1

Candidates will get to learn the following modules: Introduction to data science, basic calculations with R Software and probability theory, probability theory and random variables, random variables and discrete probability distributions, continuous probability distributions, sampling distributions and functions of random variables, convergence of random variables, central limit theorems and law of large numbers, statistical inference and point estimation, methods of point estimation of parameters, point and confidence interval estimation, confidence interval estimation and test of hypothesis, test of hypothesis, and test of hypothesis for attributes and other tests.

Part 2

Candidates will get to learn the following modules: Introduction to data science and calculations with R Software, basic fundamentals of sampling, simple random sampling, simple random sampling with R, stratified random sampling, stratified random sampling with R, bootstrap methodology with R, introduction to linear models and regression and simple linear regression analysis, simple linear regression analysis with R, multiple linear regression analysis, multiple linear regression analysis with R, and variable selection using LASSO regression.

Important dates

Commencement date – 18 January 2021
End date – 9 April 2021
Exam Date – 24 April 2021
End of enrolment – 25 January 2021

Click here for details of the first part
Click here for details of the second part.

For students who are looking to work in the finance sector, the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras is offering a job-oriented online course — Business Accounting Process for Executives.

The 8-week long course will be focussed on the processes related to Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable or Recording and Reporting of Transactions. It is being offered in partnership with Artha Vidya and it will be online, interactive and job-oriented.

Artha Vidya is a Bengaluru-based skill organisation focussed on skill development. It is promoted by a group of Chartered Accountants and Engineers with over 100 years of combined work experience in corporate companies.

About the course

With a total of 54 hours of study material, the self-paced course aims to help graduates understand the documentation and processes involved while performing transactions in finance and accounting.

The program covers 12 modules that include — how to process invoices, credit notes and maintain customer accounts; dealing with queries at the accounts payable helpdesk; how to provide data or information in standard formats, and more.

The course, costing Rs 9558, will be taught by Ganapathy Nagarajan, a qualified Chartered accountant who has more than 35 years of professional experience. Upon completion, participants will receive a certificate from IIT Madras.

Who can apply?

Those who have completed their HSC are eligible to apply.

How to apply

Step 1: Visit the official website.
Step 2: Read through the course details and hit ‘enrol’, at the bottom of the page.
Step 3: Fill out the registration form and upload the necessary documents.
Step 4: Once you have registered, you can make the payment.

Things to remember:

1. While filling out the application form you will also need to upload — a passport size photograph, a copy of your aadhar card, pan card, and degree certificate.
2. All documents need to be uploaded in jpg format and should be less than 2MB.

If you wish to know more, you can contact IIT Madras’ Digital Skill academy.

As students across the country prepare for the incoming board examinations, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has released sample papers for 2021, which entail a new exam pattern and marking scheme. The board is also set to release the date sheet soon. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the syllabus has been reduced by 30 per cent, with four to five chapters being removed from each subject.

In the new exam pattern, around 50 per cent questions in the Class XII English paper are to be MCQs (multiple choice questions). On the other hand, MCQs in Biology has been replaced by mostly assertion and reason-based questions. The Physics and Economics papers will have assertion and reason-based questions as well, with the former having a number of case studies, and the latter having around 20 MCQs.

The new marking scheme, meanwhile, offers suggestions pertaining to the right way to include key concepts and keywords, along with telling students how to keep their answers concise and clear. A repository for sample papers and subject-wise marking schemes for Class X was published by Jagran Josh recently to aid students in understanding what is expected from their answers.

Joseph Emmanuel, director, academics at CBSE, had earlier said there will be more case study-based questions, wherein students will be required to read, understand, interpret and then answer the questions. The idea behind this was to move away from rote learning.

As students await the commencement of board exams, past toppers weighed in on their own experiences with this milestone.

CBSE 2021: Read, Revise, Repeat

Purbi Jain, who was the CBSE topper with 99.6% in her 10th boards, says she turned to a number of textbooks and resources to study. These included the Shivdas Series, Educart, and most importantly, NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) books.

“NCERT is the most important, and should not be neglected at all,” she says and adds that she made sure to get done with at least two to three revisions of her entire syllabus. When it came to CBSE subjects she found the hardest — like Physics, Purbi says she ensured that she completed that syllabus first.

Read More: These IIT Toppers Are Providing Free Online Coaching to JEE, NEET Aspirants

“Even for unit and class tests, I made sure I spent most of my time studying Physics because I knew it was the hardest subject for me,” she says and adds, “I wanted to make sure I kept up with the syllabus so that I wasn’t pressured towards the end.” Purbi studied at St. Claret School in Borjhar, Assam, and plans to sit for civil service exams after school.

Himashmita Nath, who topped her 12th in Science, had a similar piece of advice to offer. “The trick is to revise daily — whatever I was taught in school, I made sure I went through it again at home.”

Set your own pace

But Himashmita never took any CBSE coaching, unlike most of her friends. “If you force yourself to stick to a timetable or strict schedule, you will burn out. The idea is to form deadlines that you can stick to, and not attempt to emulate what others are doing. Everyone moves at their own pace. Even with 30 per cent of their syllabus cut, students should make sure they get at least two to three revisions are done before they appear for the exams.”

She adds that she tried to cover two to three chapters per subject over a course of four to five days, which was the ideal pace for her. Her focus was to clear her boards so that she could sit for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

Both Purbi and Himashmita emphasised on solving question papers of previous years and reading through the marking scheme for a better idea of what the correct way to answer questions may be.

Union Education Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank is set to address students on December 10, regarding exam sheets for 10th and 12th CBSE boards, NEET 2021, JEE Main 2021, and other state board exams for the next year.

In Mumbai’s Govandi slum, where the poverty and illiteracy rate are high, an 18-year-old girl is challenging the stereotypical gender norms to achieve greatness.

According to a news report, Govandi’s Shivaji Nagar comprises 31% illiterate girls between the ages of 15-49. Residing in the same locality, Khan Rushda Praveen has cleared the NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) to be admitted to a government-aided college to pursue her MBBS degree.

Rushda, who comes from humble beginnings of a one-room-kitchen house, went on to clearing her Class 10 board exams with 86% in 2017 from Shree Geeta Vidyalaya.

Unlike most of the girls her age whose education is stopped to get them married, Rushda was not asked to quit her studies. “I want all my three children to become something in life and be financially independent. I don’t want them to suffer like we did because of lack of education and money. My husband earns about Rs 25,000, which is just enough for us to survive. But we want our children to earn more so that they can improve their lifestyle and educate their children with ease,” says Rushda’s mother, Shera Parveen. The 39-year-old studied till Class 11 before becoming a housewife while Rushda’s father, Nusrat Ali, studied only till Class 10 and now works as a mechanic.

Rushda went to Swami Vivekanand college, which was about 5 kilometres away from her house. Speaking about why she left coaching classes, she says, “I was sure that I could excel in my studies without coaching classes because I was studying hard and I had good lecturers.”

Hard work pays off

Rushda would wake up at 5 am to study, as her college started in the afternoon. After college, she would return home, freshen up and get back to studying. “I would study what I was taught in college. It helps in grasping the concept better and stores it in your mind for a longer time. It also gets done sooner as compared to revising any chapter after a couple of days,” adds the 18-year-old. She further adds, “I would study till about 2 am and then wake up at 5 am without anyone’s assistance.” Given her rigorous study routine, she went on to score 87% in her Class 12 board exams in 2019.

She then enrolled in coaching classes to prepare for NEET. Refusing to take a day’s break from her studies, she says, “I don’t like to wait for that one day of break. This wait and excitement for ‘a break day’ hampers your studies. It is better to study everyday. Of course, I would take about a few hours of a break once in a while.”

Rushda says that she would take breaks only for breakfast, lunch and dinner the entire day. “I would write poems and apply henna sometimes. Both are hobbies that I use to refresh my mind,” she adds. When asked how she managed to study hard in a room shared by everyone, she reveals, “All family members are supportive. Even my younger siblings are studious so we are studying most of the time. I would mostly spend most of my time in college studying. That is how I would manage my studies.”

Tips and tricks to ace NEET

Rushda attempted NEET in 2019 and also cleared the exam. However, she could not manage to find any seat in a government-aided college which is why she repeated the entrance test in 2020. “Initially, my parents suggested that I do some other course in medicine instead of MBBS, but I am interested in MBBS. I put my best foot forward to score well to get a seat in a government college for MBBS,” Rushda says.

While suggesting tips on how to prepare for NEET, she says, “Subjects that you find tough should be given more attention to score well in the NEET exam.” She also suggests studying from NCERT(National Council of Educational Research and Training) books before studying anything extra from other books in the market.

In her second attempt, she managed to score 597 out of 720 marks and got a seat in a government college in Nagpur. Speaking about getting into a government college she says, “Other than the fees being affordable, here, we have more scope of practicing, as government colleges have more patients and even have more cadavers then a regular hospital,” Rushda says. She is now waiting for the second list hoping to get admission in Mumbai-based government college.

Towards a better life

Rushda wants to specialise in neurology. She says, “Life gets easier if we are financially independent. Even after marriage, if both partners are earning, it avoids financial constraints. I want to build my own identity in life.”

Shera chimes in with, “Both my husband and I are less educated because parents were not financially strong, which was also because of lack of education. We don’t want our children, irrespective of sons or daughters to suffer.”

Rushda’s mother further adds that she always tries to take care of household chores alone so that Rushda, being the eldest daughter, doesn’t have to worry about them and can focus on her studies. “My sacrifices and Rushda’s hard work have now paid off. We are hopeful that Rushda will study hard and become a better doctor to serve society. As soon as her college starts, I will not let her do anything other than studying,” says Shera.

Rushda adds, “I have been encouraged by my relatives, as one of my cousins is an engineer and working with a renowned company. And I will be the first in my family to be a doctor.”

Through her academic achievements she has also received a private scholarship from Maharashtra’s Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik. “They will be taking care of my college fees for five years, no matter where I get admission. I am very thankful to them,” a grateful Rushda says.

(Article written by Bilal Khan; Edited by Yoshita Rao)

In a country with relatively few elite institutions of higher learning, the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad (IIMA), Gujarat, has carved out a unique place for itself.

(Image above of Dr. Kamla Chowdhry in the middle of two students during the first convocation ceremony on 10 April, 1966 courtesy the IIMA Archives)

For many middle-class Indians looking to climb up the economic ladder, an MBA from IIMA offers a genuine stepping stone into the higher echelons of corporate India. An institution of excellence, this is the place where India’s brightest gather.

But how many know about the history of this institution, founded in 1961? Those with a cursory interest will probably point to the ‘founding fathers’, including Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India’s space programme, Jivraj Mehta, the first Chief Minister of Gujarat and Kasturbhai Lalbhai, a leading industrialist.

But one name that was, until recently, largely erased from this narrative was that of Dr Kamla Chowdhry, the institute’s first faculty member and de-facto director until 1972. Academics like Professor Chinamy Tumbe, a faculty member at IIMA and author of India Moving: A History of Migration and Age of Pandemics (1817-1920): How they shaped India and the World, are looking to rearrange this narrative.

Going through his recent research on Dr. Chowdhry, captured in this moving tribute published in Fifty Two, one can make the argument that she was the ‘Founding Mother’ of IIMA. Without her immense contributions in the early years, the institution arguably wouldn’t exist as it does today.

Unfortunately, old-fashioned sexism prevented her from becoming the first director of the institute, but not before she left an indelible mark on the institution.

Early Life

Born on 17 December 1920 in Lahore to a Punjabi Khatri family, Kamla was raised in a household of liberal persuasion by her father Ganesh Das Kapur, a leading surgeon in the city, and her mother Lilavati Khanna, who came from a family of engineers.

“After early education at [Rabindranath] Tagore-inspired Shantiniketan in [West] Bengal, she obtained her BA in Mathematics and Philosophy at Calcutta University in 1940 and MA in Philosophy at Punjab University in 1943. In 1944-45, she taught Inter and BA classes at Mahila College, Lahore and then moved to the USA to obtain a MA in Social Psychology at Michigan University in 1946 and a PhD in Social Psychology at Michigan University in 1949,” notes this brief profile on Kamla published in the official IIMA online archives.

She was married to Indian civil service officer Khem Chaudhary, but their union was brutally cut short. In the early 1940s, Khem was murdered in his own bed while posted in Lahore. Much to her horror, Kamla woke up to find him lying dead next to her. Although the culprit was tried, convicted and given a death sentence, the event deeply traumatized her.

Battling trauma and the depression that followed, Kamla finished her MA in Philosophy from Panjab University before eventually leaving for the United States.

Making an Impression

She came back to India in 1949 as Dr. Kamla Chowdhry after obtaining her PhD in Social Psychology, and found a job with the Ahmedabad Textile Industry Research Association (ATIRA), where she headed the Human Relations Division until 1961. Established by Dr. Sarabhai, ATIRA sought to infuse scientific research in addressing industrial problems.

Backed by a PhD in social psychology, which gave her insight into how people behave in groups, she sought to understand workers labouring in the textile mills of Ahmedabad. By closely observing their behaviour at the site, their socio-economic conditions and even what they ate, her research helped improve relations between workers and employees at these mills, while also facilitating an increase in overall productivity on the shop floor.

This research spanned nearly a decade, but by 1960, she sought opportunities outside Ahmedabad, and there were many offers that came her way. However, in his desire to keep Dr. Chowdhry in Ahmedabad, Dr. Sarabhai talked about a leadership/faculty position opening up at an upcoming institute of management (which has since come to be known as IIMA).

IIMA’s First Faculty Member

The institution itself was actually founded in December 1961 as part of a unique collaboration between the Government of India, Gujarat government, local industrialists in the city, Ford Foundation and the illustrious Harvard Business School (HBS).

Interestingly enough, before joining IIMA, Dr. Chowdhary spent a year at HBS as a researcher, working under Dr. Fritz Roethlisberge, a professor of human relations. As Professor Chinmay Tumbe argues in this article, her one-year stint from March 1961 onwards helped cement IIMA’s collaboration with HBS, which was important to further the former’s credentials.

“She was the first member of the IIMA faculty when she joined as Professor and Coordinator of Programmes in July 1962. Dr. Chowdhry was a member of the IIMA Society, and also the first faculty nominee to be appointed on the university’s board in 1962. She effectively ran the institute from its bungalow office in Shahibaug, Ahmedabad, for three years, taking key administrative decisions, recruiting the first set of faculty and closely coordinating with the Harvard Business School and Ford Foundation,” note the IIMA archives.

As de facto director, her biggest contribution was probably designing the Programme for Management Development aimed at company executives in 1964, which later came to be known as the Three-Tiered Programme for Management Development or the 3TP. By most accounts, it was IIMA’s first educational offering, which continues till this day.

Inspiration for the 3TP came from the Advanced Management Program (AMP) of HBS, which aimed at “men who are or soon will be in top management positions.” However, when it came to designing a course along similar contours, Dr. Chowdhry, who had attended AMP sessions in the past, understood that it had to be different in an Indian context.

She realised that any such educational offering must be “oriented towards the company rather than the individual.” Speaking to the institute’s YouTube channel, Prafull Anubhai, the author of ‘The IIMA Story’, notes, “She observed that Indian industry at that time was dominated by family businesses. Families controlled and ran these industries as if it was their domestic affair. It’s in that atmosphere that professionalism had to be inducted.”

Instead of training someone with a foreign or postgraduate degree in isolation and sending them to work for these companies directly, there was a need to create a class of individuals that could understand the language of professionalism.

Unlike the AMP, the 3TP asked companies to send executives across middle management, senior management and top management. A programme was customised for each management class that ran for anywhere between five to ten weeks.

The first edition in 1964, which was organised in Jaipur, attracted 120 participants across 40 companies, which included Dr. Vargheshe Kurien of Amul fame and legendary entrepreneur HT Parekh, the brain behind ICICI and HDFC, notes Professor Tumbe. The 3TP in some regards laid some of the groundwork for the full-time MBA programme.

After her stint as Coordinator of Programmes, she shifted her focus towards teaching and research work, laying out case studies of major Indian corporations like Unilever. She also remained a consultant with different corporations and, in March 1968, became one of the first women to be appointed as visiting faculty at HBS, which otherwise was a bastion of male supremacy.

Nonetheless, she was denied the position of director. The reasons for this denial lay in sexism prevalent in the halls of HBS that couldn’t see a competent woman. In letters between HBS professors and doctoral students tied with IIMA that Professor Tumbe documents, doubts were cast on her abilities as a teacher and administrator. In hindsight, they reek of sexism. HBS at the time did not admit women into their MBA programme.

In 1965, the institute eventually invited economist Ravi Matthai, who didn’t even have a doctoral degree at the time, to take over as director. This fracas eventually led to the breaking down of the relationship between IIMA and HBS.

Years later, in 1987, Dr. Chowdhry reflected on the issue of sexism in higher education. “I remember there was an unconscious bias against the induction of women in the faculty—there were only two or three women faculty members. This was because of Harvard, which was not known to be having any women faculty members. However, I had to fight strong battles with admissions to have more women in the PGP [MBA].”

Even after she quit IIMA in 1972 (a year after Dr. Sarabhai’s sudden passing), she continued to speak up for greater inclusion of women in the university’s MBA programme and faculty. In one such instance, she confronted JRD Tata for a job advertisement which said “women need not apply” and got this condition overturned the following year, allowing women to apply.

“She left IIMA in 1972 and continued to excel thereafter, first as an advisor for the Public Planning and Management Committee of the Ford Foundation India Office in the 1970s, and then as head of the National Wastelands Development Board under Rajiv Gandhi’s Prime-Ministership between 1985 and 1988. She was a member of the World Commission on Forestry and Sustainable Development and the World Bank’s Advisory Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development. Her research interests gradually shifted over her career from organizational behaviour to environmentalism and Gandhian thought,” notes the IIMA Archives profile on Dr. Chowdhry.

Kamla eventually passed away on 4 January 2006 at the age of 85, but her legacy remains forever etched in this institute of excellence. Dormitory 1 at IIMA, which is predominantly for women, was renamed in her honour.

More than anything else, however, she is the giant upon whose shoulders the institute stands even today.

(Edited by Divya Sethu)

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) is inviting applications to fill 2,000 vacancies for the posts of Assistant Central Intelligence Officer (ACIO), GradeII/Executive 2020, on its official website, mha.gov.in.

On 19 December 2020, the IB, Ministry of Home Affairs released the notification for the recruitment.

Who can apply?

• Only Indian nationals can apply for the positions.
• Qualification: The candidates should have a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree from a recognised university.
• Age: Candidates between the ages of 18 and 27 can apply for the post. The upper age limit is relaxable by five years for SC/ST, and by three years for OBC candidates.

Desirable qualifications

• Knowledge of computers

Pay Scale:

• Selected candidates will be paid a salary ranging from Rs 9,300 to Rs 34,800. Pay grade is Rs 4,200 and allowance.

How to apply

• Visit www.mha.gov.in or www.ncs.gov.in.
• Register yourself — candidates are required to enter all information correctly in the online application form, and verify the same before submission.
• Upload the required documents.
• Pay registration fees.

Important dates

• The application process begins on 19 December 2020.
• The last date of application fee payment is 9 January 2021.
• The interview date will be intimated later.

Exam pattern

Selection of the candidates will be done on the basis of a written exam, followed by a round of interview. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the exam will be conducted online.

Candidates will take a one-hour exam with 100 questions in five parts — General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude, Numerical/Logical/Analytical Ability and Reasoning, English Language and General Studies. For each wrong answer, there will be negative marking of 1/4 marks.

Tier 2 will be a descriptive exam. Candidates will take a one-hour exam of 50 marks in two parts, Essay and English Comprehension & Précis Writing.

Candidates who pass the examination will move on to Tier 3, which is an interview of 100 Marks. Those appearing for the interview may be asked to take a Psychometric/Aptitude Test.

(Edited by Divya Sethu)

“Years ago, my father had opened a school in Etawah district [Uttar Pradesh] to educate underprivileged children but had to shut it down due to family problems. However, now I am living my father’s dream of teaching economically backward children for free,” Rohit Kumar Yadav, a Government Railway Police (GRP) constable, tells The Better India.

He goes on to share his experience of teaching underprivileged children for free in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao for the past two years.

The railway children

What sparked this philanthropic venture was Rohit’s encounter with a street urchin. In June 2018, while travelling from Unnao to Rae Bareli section for work, he met a few children begging for money on the train. “A kid came to me asking for money to buy food. I was hurt seeing begging bowls in the child’s hands that should have otherwise been carrying pens and books at that age,” says an empathetic Rohit.

The 35-year-old shares that even days after the incident he couldn’t forget the kid who came to him for money. He thought deeply about how lending a few alms may not help kids like the ones on the train, and so, he decided to do something that had the potential to change their future for the better.

Rohit managed to find and speak to the parents of the kids who were begging in the train and urged them to send their children to school. “I thought if I was able to convince the parents of the kids then I could show them the path to a bright future, as my father would’ve wanted,” he says.

But fulfilling his father’s dream did not come easy.

Rohit visited the kids’ families several times to make the parents understand the need for education. He says, “Most of the parents were not ready to send the children to school thinking that it would result in loss of earnings at home. Some were not ready to go through the admission process and pay money for admission as the parents don’t earn much to begin with.”

He adds, “I was not ready to let go of my dream. With the slogan ‘Har Hath Mein Kalam’ (A pen in every hand), I thought of bringing the school to the children.”

The following month after the train incident, in July, 2018, the constable began teaching English, Hindi and Math classes for the students himself. Slowly, his new school gained popularity with the children of the area. And in a makeshift classroom that was once used to teach just five students near the railway track of the Unnao station, today, he teaches a total of 90 students.

‘Har Hath Mein Kalam’

Seeing Rohit’s dedication to teach the students in an open ground near the railway stations, several NGOs approached him to help him shift to a nearby rented accommodation. “Initially, I was the only teacher for these students. As I have night shifts at work, I go to teach the kids from 2.30 pm till 5.30 pm from Monday to Saturday,” says the railway constable.

Rohit reveals that at first the kids had no particular ambition but now some of them want to become doctors, engineers, and others, government officials. These students are also interested in singing, dancing and drawing, he shares.

Speaking about running the school, he says, “My monthly take home salary is Rs 40,000 and I spend Rs 10,000 for the school, including the teachers salary,” Rohit says.

By the end of 2019, with the help of the then District Panchayati Raj Officer, Rohit shifted the classes to the Korari Panchayat Bahwan building. “At present, the school has two more teachers besides me. They help teach Science and Social Sciences,” he says and adds, “By God’s grace I am able to pay the salary of two teachers and buy books, pencils and all required materials to my children with my salary. I hope that with the help of others I will be able to arrange more facilities for the children in the coming days.”

“For me, my interest in running the school for kids is bigger than the stress of my work in the trains. But, I can say that I am the happiest now than I have ever been as I get to live out my father’s dream,” he concludes.

To get in touch with Rohit, you may contact him on this number — 95324 27300.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

This article has been sponsored by MG Motor India.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2018 estimated that there are at least 63 million people in India who live with significant hearing loss. While the numbers of this demographic in the population is significant, there still exists a massive gap between deaf people and education. Beginning from the formative years, this gap is seen well into adulthood.

Bleetech Innovations, a Pune-based start-up, is attempting to bridge this gap using two technological interventions. The first is BleeTV, a free android app and web portal that hosts a vast pool of content in Indian Sign Language (ISL), and the second is BleeTV Library—a similar platform that curates content for children.

Bleetech was started in 2015 by Janhavi Joshi and Nupur Kirloskar, while they were still studying product design at MIT, Pune. “We worked on a project where we designed a smartwatch, that would help the deaf community ‘listen’ to music through vibrations,” says Janhavi.

However, over the course of their interaction with the members of the community, they understood the hurdles people with hearing impairment face in the process of gaining an education. “Apart from a few exceptions, all schools for the deaf in India focus on oralism, using speech therapy and lip-reading for communication,” she adds. This, she says, hinders their learning process.

“They end up relying heavily on textbooks designed for their peers, who do not have hearing issues, which in turn leaves them struggling to understand and reproduce the texts. As a result, most of them have underdeveloped linguistic skills,” she says.

The content on BleeTV are videos with topics ranging from news, financial literacy, current affairs, moral stories, English language, science and technology, and self-help, among others. The platform has reached over 12,000 deaf people, including 1,200 children, and has trained over 100 teachers.

The Better India and MG Motor India have come together to co-create MGChangemakers Season 3, a series recognising and commemorating heroes who are using innovation for social change, like Janhavi.

Learn more about this wonderful initiative by watching the video below:

The Electric Vehicle (EV) market in India is expected to rise exponentially by 2027, according to a report by India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA). The findings suggest that the demand for EVs, EV batteries and public charging infrastructure will also increase.

Owing to this boom, in the next decade, the need for engineers to develop such technology will also understandably rise.

Currently, the academic courses specialising in this field are few, and most engineering graduates in India are equipped with theoretical knowledge but there is less focus on the practical understanding of EVs.

To bridge this gap, and to equip future engineers with a stronger understanding of EVs, a Chennai-based startup named Skill Lync is offering a postgraduate course in Electric Vehicle Design and Simulation.

“The curriculum is focussed on what Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) seek. It is a course that trains engineers on all the essential engineering concepts using simulations and tools that are used by top OEMs to design EVs,” says Suryanarayanan P, the co-founder of Skill Lync.

The EDX Engine

Founded in 2018, Skill Lync was started by two mechanical engineers — Suryanarayanan P and Sarangarajan V, who believed that in India engineers are taught based on a syllabus that is outdated and that is why most of them are not placed in core-level jobs.

“In 2011, we met during our Masters in the University of Wisconsin, USA. During our time there we both agreed that teaching abroad had a practical approach with a focus on what the industry required from engineers. This landed us in jobs through which we could earn $100,000 annually,” says Suryanarayanan, adding that in 2014 the duo decided to return to India and start their venture.

Focussing on the skill-gap that prevailed among Indian engineering students, the following year, they worked on a curriculum for mechanical engineering students that taught technical computing concepts. They wanted to implement this in various engineering colleges across Tamil Nadu. But, this venture did not pick up as they expected it to.

In 2016, with the same curriculum, the duo launched a YouTube channel named ‘EDX Engine’, where they uploaded videos explaining engineering concepts such as fluid dynamics, design, multibody dynamics, vehicle dynamics and more.

“For the first year, it was primarily both of us making these videos and teaching these concepts. Then, in 2017, we onboarded more instructors who were industry experts and expanded from teaching only mechanical students to others like electrical engineering, chemical engineering and more,” says Suryanarayanan.

Finally, in 2018, the duo officially registered Skill Lync as a startup that offers hands-on approach courses for Mechanical, Electrical, Civil and Computer Science Engineering students in India and across the world.

About the EV course

In March 2020, the company decided to launch postgraduate diploma courses on EV, owing to a rise in the number of companies venturing into the market.

“In the next 10 years, India has a great potential to evolve in the EV field and for us to keep that momentum going, there needs to be more talent in the country. Apart from that, it is also an opportunity for engineering students to upskill and get placed in jobs,” says Suryanarayanan.

Providing details about the eight-month course, Suryanarayanan says that most of the curriculum is pre-recorded and provided online. “The course starts with an introduction to hybrid EVs, their control, drive, and understanding using Matlab and Simulink software. When a student requires one-on-one guidance they can reach out to one of the 60 support engineers associated with the platform,” he says.

The startup offers full-time and part-time courses and charges Rs 2,75,000 as fees for both. Apart from online classes, there are also physical classes being provided in Chennai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. Suryanarayanan adds that there is also an EMI option available for students.

Suryanarayanan claims that till date, two batches have started and 800 participants have registered for the course. From the first batch, more than 300 students have been placed in various companies across the country.

If you wish to know more about the programs Skill Lync offers, you can visit their website or call on 9809805252.

Due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, dates of major examinations were rescheduled.

If you will be appearing for these competitive exams—such as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 10 or 12 exam, Engineering entrance test Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Main and JEE Advanced 2021), and the medical entrance exam National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET 2021)—then read on to find the revised dates and schedule, along with a little advice from toppers.

CBSE board exam

• The board examination for Classes 10 and 12 are scheduled to be conducted from 4 May 2021 until 10 June 2021.
• The schools have been asked to start conducting practical examinations from 1 March 2021.
• The final schedule and date sheets for Classes 10 and 12 have not been released by CBSE yet.
• In light of how 2020 has passed, the government has also reduced the CBSE board examination syllabus for 2021 by almost 30 per cent.
• The results of these examinations will be declared by or before 15 July 2021.

Himashmita Nath, who topped her Class 12 in Science, says, “The trick is to revise daily — whatever I was taught in school, I made sure I went through it again at home.” She also says that sticking to a very strict routine or time table could lead to a burn out and advises on working on your individual pace. “Even with 30 per cent of their syllabus cut, students should make sure they get at least two to three revisions done before they appear for the exams,” she says.

To read what other toppers have to say click here.

JEE Advanced 2021

The JEE Advanced 2021 exam dates will be announced on 7 January 2021. On the same day, the Education Minister will also make an announcement about the eligibility criteria for admissions.

Taran Singh, an IIT-Madras alumnus who is the founder of Melvano—an Artificial Intelligence-based smart learning platform for students to help them crack their entrance exams—urges aspirants to draw up an ‘opportunity’ and ‘threat’ list. The opportunity list has all the high-scoring topics and the ones you have prepared well for. Whereas the threat list is where you need to work more. To understand how this will help in your preparation, click here to read what he says.

Deepanshu Jindal, who secured an All India Rank of 1 in the 2016 JEE Mains examination shares the importance of attempting mock papers, and adds, “It was through practice that I found I was able to do chemistry faster than the other subjects and thus my method was to get done with it first and then spend some extra time in solving mathematics problems.” For more such tips from Deepanshu, click here to access the entire article.

NEET 2021

• The registration form to apply for NEET 2021 has been released as on 10 December 2020.
• The registration link will remain active until the first week of January 2021 and thereafter the admit cards will be issued in April 2021.
• The exam is likely to be conducted in the first week of May 2021.

Sakshi Kumari, a third-year medical student, who has cleared the NEET examination, advises others about preparing for Biology. She says, “The strategy for Biology is to go through the entire syllabus and solve around 10 past year question papers.” To read more tips for NEET from Sakshi and other toppers, click here.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

In the mid-19th century, heightened ideals of nationalism and independence also brought about a sense of introspection into several discriminatory practices in the country. These practices included caste and gender-based discrimination. The latter included Sati, ostracisation of widows, unregulated age of consent for sexual relations, child marriage, and property rights.

Early Indian feminists included famous Bengali poet and social worker Kamini Roy, who was one of the first girls to attend school in British India, at Bethune College at the then University of Calcutta. Roy vigorously fought for equal rights, and actively participated in the women’s suffrage movement. But even her feminism was inspired, as she picked up cues of the movement from her classmate, Abala Bose, at Bethune.

However, this activist’s name doesn’t feature in too many history textbooks.

The birth of ‘Lady Bose’

Abala was born in Barisal on 8 August 1865, to Durgamohan Das, a prominent leader of the Brahmo Samaj. Her mother, Brahmamoyee, championed the cause of upliftment of widows, who at the time faced severe ostracisation and social injustices. Brahmamoyee died when Abala was only 10 years old, but not before leaving a deep impact on her daughter.

In what was a stark contrast to the norm at the time, Abala grew up in an environment that encouraged higher education of women. Like Roy, she was one of the earliest entrants to Bethune College and went on to study medicine at Madras University. She appeared for her final examination but had to return home before the results were declared, owing to ill health. While she passed her exam, she never learned of her success.

After college, at the age of 23, Abala married Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, who went on to be known as the Father of Radio Science. In 1916, he received a knighthood, and Abala subsequently came to be known as Lady Bose. Much has been written about her role in her husband’s success. She was his inspiration to carry on his scientific work. But Abala’s role in India’s history is larger than just being a woman behind her husband’s success.

Educational reforms

Sir J C Bose’s work in the field of radio science required him to often travel across the world. Abala would accompany him on as many tours as she could. Here, she began to observe how women lived in different societies. While there were many differences in the way these women led their lives, some struggles were the same for women everywhere.

On returning from a particular trip to Europe, Abala took it upon herself to do everything in her power to improve the state of education for women in India. In 1910, she became the secretary of the Brahmo Balika Shikshalaya in Calcutta and served this post for the next 26 years.

Following this trip, she also brought to India the Montessori school system, and in 1919, started the Brahmo Girls’ School. The same year, she established the Nari Shiksha Samiti, wherein she brought together eminent personalities—like Chittaranjan Das, Founder-leader of the Swaraj Party; Jadumati Mukherjee, mother of Bengali industrialist Dr Rajen Mukherjee; Prafulla Chandra Ray, the Father of Chemical Science in India; social reformer Priyambada Bannerjee and Sir (Dr) Nilratan Sircar, who promoted science and technology education in contemporary India, among others—to promote the spread of education for women and provide financial assistance to widows. The organisation worked hard to ensure female representation in educational bodies, and pressed for gender-sensitive syllabus in schools.

This was not all. In her lifetime, Abala set up around 88 primary schools and 14 adult education centres in the British province of Bengal. This included the Murlidhar Girls’ College, which she set up jointly with Krishnaprasad Basak. The two also set up the Beltala Girls’ School in Bhowanipore, South Calcutta, in 1920.

Both Abala and her husband were close friends with Swami Vivekananda and Sister Nivedita, his disciple. In fact, Sister Nivedita is said to have encouraged Dr Bose to continue pursuing his scientific interests and even helped him out financially when he struggled with the British government’s indifference to his contributions to radio science. With her help, Abala was able to train teachers at the kindergarten level, and the two revolutionised the educational system by providing self-defence training to young girls, and allowing the older girls to step out and visit places of their interest.

In 1925, Abala established the Vidyasagar Bani Bhawan, which provided both teacher training as well as education to widows. These women would then be employed by schools that came under the jurisdiction of the Nari Shiksha Samiti. The institute was the first in Bengal that trained primary and pre-primary teachers. Abala’s exposure to the Montessori education system in Europe proved to be helpful in setting up the training system.

Going beyond education

Simultaneously, Lady Bose also set up the Mahila Shilpa Bhavan in Kolkata and Jhargram. Here, she encouraged entrepreneurship and financial independence of distressed women and widows, so they could lead lives that were free from the shackles of societal expectations at the time. These women were trained in different arts and crafts, and the institute would then help them set up their own businesses. Abala also set up a training institute in Kamarhati, where she trained poor women in weaving, leatherwork, pottery and tailoring. Additionally, she was chosen as the first president of the Bengal Women’s Education League.

Abala also pioneered women’s suffrage (the right to vote) in India. Along with freedom fighter Sarojini Naidu, Margaret Cousins (Irish-Indian educationist and suffragist), Dorothy Jinarajadasa (English feminist) and Ramabai Ranade (social worker and activist), she was part of the delegation that met Edwin Montagu in 1917, while he was visiting India to negotiate the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms. This led to Indian women’s struggles to secure political and civil rights, and the committee asked for franchise on the same terms as men. In 1921, Bombay and Madras became the first provinces to extend the franchise to women. Bengal followed in 1925.

After India gained independence, Abala’s work shifted more towards the education and rehabilitation of displaced and economically distressed young girls and women, irrespective of their marital status.

‘A woman is a mind’

Her drive for educational reforms and upliftment of distressed women came from a very deep-rooted understanding of how the system worked at the time. She was aware that simply building schools would not reform how girls were being educated — training a number of teachers to cater to different students was a must. She emphasised on the education of purdah women, instead of waiting for them to be able to break out of oppression and educate themselves. She understood that brahmin pundits would have to be replaced by female teachers in order to make girls more comfortable.

In a piece she wrote for Modern Review, an English magazine, she said that women were entitled to better education not so they can get better matches (in terms of marriage), and not even so they become more valuable as daughters-in-law in their new homes, but because “a woman, like a man, is, first of all, a mind, and only in the second place, physical and a body”.

In her final days, Lady Bose donated Rs 10,00,000 to set up the Sister Nivedita Adult Education Fund, which provided literary classes, first aid, home gardening and many other such skills to women in rural areas.

She spent her remaining days in the Boses’ rented home in Darjeeling. Her husband passed away in 1937, and Abala died in 1951. The Darjeeling house has since been renovated, and plans have been made to turn it into a major cultural and educational centre.

When women support and uplift each other, wonderful things happen. Abala Bose dedicated her life to this very principle and helped shape some of the earlier concepts of the feminist movement we follow to this day. For this reason, it becomes imperative to recognise her contribution in the lives we modern women lead today and understand how much we have to thank Lady Bose for.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

Vishesh Garg (23), a Common Aptitude Test (CAT) aspirant who scored 99.99 percentile in the examination, says that management was always part of his life plan. Having cleared the examination twice, he shares with readers some preparation strategies that worked for him.

Having grown up in Solan, Himachal Pradesh, Vishesh attributes a lot of his success to the reading habit that his school, St Luke’s, instilled in him.

“Reading has provided me with a great sense of confidence, and for that I am thankful to the school’s well-stocked library,” he says.

What’s interesting about Vishesh’s preparation strategy is that he was working a full-time job and was able to devote only the weekends for structured study. He says, “It’s not the amount of time one spends studying, but the quality and the focus with which one does. I prepared for four months, and used only the weekends to do so.”

1. Find your strength and weakness

For Vishesh, having attempted the CAT earlier and scored 99.00 percentile, the exam was one that he understood. He says, “That helped me realise that my baseline was good enough to dedicate focussed time for preparation. It also helped me ascertain what my strengths and weaknesses were.” Vishesh ensured that during his preparation, he built on his strengths. He also made sure his weak areas were covered enough to attempt the easy questions under their ambit.

2. Be mindful while selecting questions

This, according to Vishesh, is among the most important things a CAT aspirant must learn to do. “There is limited time and the level of questions asked is high. It is therefore prudent for aspirants to only attempt questions that they are more than a 100 percent sure about. Do note that each wrong answer carries a negative marking,” he says. Do not enter the examination hall telling yourself that you will attempt all the questions – that will prove to be your folly, he adds.

3. Question paper pattern may be changed

Speaking about the question paper pattern, Vishesh says, “This year the total time aspirants get was reduced from three hours to two, and simultaneously, the number of questions being asked was also reduced. We had to attempt a total of 76 questions within two hours, and because of the reduction in time, we had less time for each question. Do not get flustered when some changes are made – your preparation will hold you in good stead,” says Vishesh.

4. Make mock papers your best friend

“The more mock papers you solve, the more confident you are likely to feel when attempting the main paper,” says Vishesh. He says that it will also help in understanding what areas need more work. The main challenge, according to Vishesh, is training the mind to leave questions which you are not completely sure about. “We are always told, through school, to attempt all questions. However, in this examination, unless you are more than sure, I would urge you not to attempt it,” he says.

5. Keep nervousness at bay

As much as this seems easier said than done, Vishesh says, “I worked towards keeping all my nervousness at bay before entering the examination hall. I went in with a completely blank mind with almost zero expectations and that helped me a great deal.” Not caring about the outcome while attempting the paper might be the biggest strength for aspirants. “My focus was on just solving all that I could and then looking at the tougher questions to see if I could try attempting them,” he says.

6. Have a strategy for each section

The questions in these competitive examinations are usually divided into sections, and Vishesh says that devising individual sectional strategies for each will help. “In the verbal section, which was my strongest, I made sure to go through the questions from start to end, and just solve all the ones I knew. In the Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning paper, I took time to understand, work out the answer and only then move on,” he says. In the first attempt, only answer the ones you are sure of, or that need minimal work time. Come back to the questions which need more time later, advises Vishesh.

7. Have a clear study plan

Since Vishesh was able to devote only the weekends to CAT preparation, he ensured that he attempted a mock paper every Sunday. “I would create an exam-like environment and ensure that I attempted all three sections within the permissible time limit. That gave me a clear understanding of where I stood,” he says. After doing this, on the following Saturday, Vishesh would spend time analysing his mistakes and working on areas that needed more attention.

In conclusion he says, “Work on your strengths and just stay focussed on the goal.”

(Edited by Divya Sethu)

Shweta Das, 21, describes herself as a ‘student and an entrepreneur who understands the needs of students’. It was through her own research, during the surge of online classes that began last year thanks to the pandemic, that she founded Gyaansutra.

Started in May 2020, this portal aims to provide academic help to students from nursery to those pursuing a degree course in college. The portal currently has 30 tutors on-board.

Speaking to The Better India, Shweta says, “I found that students and parents were struggling to make sense of online classes and were looking for additional support. The classes available were costly and each class cost about Rs 1000 a month.” The one thing that deterred parents were the exorbitant fees that many online classes charged, and this is the pain point that Shweta wanted to address.

“I wanted to create a portal that appealed to both parents and also the tutors. The price point was what made it attractive for both parties involved,” says Shweta. The portal also provides jobs to many graduates and undergraduates, who are looking for jobs and have a passion for teaching.

What’s unique about Gyaansutra?

The portal works on a decentralised model, meaning each tutor conducts classes from the comforts of their own home and are based all across India. “While we have tutors from all across, my immediate concern is to help students from the Eastern zone. I find that because of monetary concerns, students are not able to tap into their full potential,” says Shweta. Given that Shweta herself is from Jamshedpur, she says she understands some of the problems that students face.

Once students pick their tutor, they make a payment for the number of classes they wish to sign up for, and once done the tutor reaches out to the students and takes the classes forward. Speaking about the plans available, Shweta says, “Depending on the number of classes and subjects being opted for, classes begin from Rs 300 onwards for a month.” Students can opt to learn math, physics, chemistry, spoken english, economics, accounts, and quantitative studies for students pursuing Bachelors in Commerce and Bachelors in Business Administration.

Having started with an investment of Rs 2000 to get the domain name and an additional miscellaneous expense of Rs 3000, Shweta says that she began with not more than Rs 5000.

Gyaansutra currently has over 1000 students enrolled with the platform. Speaking about how the revenue sharing takes place between the portal and the tutors, Shweta says, “The portal receives a commission of Rs 100 per student and the rest of the amount goes to the tutor directly. We have managed to become profitable and that is a huge motivation to keep growing.”

Students can opt for one-on-one classes as well as be a part of a larger group, however, the charges remain the same for students. These online classes are conducted on the Google meet platform.

“I loved the accounts class with Sir Sukhendu. I learnt many new concepts in such an easy manner. His way of explaining concepts is perfect and the class notes are extremely useful,” says Faiza Siddique, a student of Jamshedpur Women’s College.

While Shweta has been approached by other companies to collaborate with them, she says, “I want to wait a while longer, get better exposure, and then take this forward in a bigger way. My intention now is to help as many students as possible to get on the platform and take away the notion that education is expensive and unaffordable.”

If you wish to check this platform and enroll for any course, click here.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

The National Level Common Entrance Exam (NLCEE) is an entrance examination to search for talented candidates, extend maximum support to the unprivileged and provide scholarships to the deserving candidates, so that more and more students can fulfil their dream of having a better education.

Organised by IITians, NITians and IIMsians, NLCEE 2021 will provide scholarships worth Rs 5 crore to deserving students from underprivileged backgrounds.

Things to know about the scholarship

• Students of Class 9 to 12 and graduates are eligible to apply for this scholarship.
• The online examination to determine whether a student is eligible for the scholarship or not will be held between 21 to 25 January 2021.
• While 100 underprivileged students will be awarded scholarships, more than 5000 awards and prizes will be given to deserving students.
• The prizes consist of android mobile phones, laptops, and tablets.
• Coaching will also be provided to 100 underprivileged and deserving students who will be selected based on a written examination that NLCEE will conduct.
• The top 5,000 students will also receive an e-certificate.
• The examination will consist of 50 questions and will be held for a duration of one hour.
• Each correct answer will carry four marks and negative marking of one will be attached to each wrong answer.
• While girls would have to pay Rs 50 to appear for the exam, this fee for boys is Rs 100.

Who can apply?

• Students planning to take admissions in online/offline coaching for their competitive exam preparation like JEE, NEET, State Engineering, UPSC, Banking, Railways, Defense, etc. can apply for this scholarship.
• The participants for the exam are the students studying in Classes 9 to 12, 12th Pass and graduates.

Students can directly apply through the website or through the NLCEE mobile app.

(Edited by Yoshita Rao)

Storytelling is the oldest form of teaching. Besides improving literacy skills, this oral tradition forms a child’s curiosity and imagination, cultural understanding, social skills and focus. In a country as diverse as India, storytelling, in its various forms, is one of the first avenues in helping preserve our heritage and history. And languages play an important role in this too.

Mumbai-based Shikha Dalmia (39), a mother of two who started Spin a Yarn (SaY) in 2018 with her mother-in-law, Madhurata, found that a lot of the times, resources to access stories in native languages were limited.

“I’m a Marwari, and my husband is Maharashtrian. So my family is quite multicultural. When I wanted to teach my kids Hindi and Marathi, I found that the resources available failed to showcase these languages in their purest forms. Even Hindi here has evolved to become very ‘Mumbai-centric’. The Hindi we speak in the North and the one we speak here are completely different,” Shikha tells The Better India.

Madhurata Deshmukh (67) began narrating stories to her grandchildren in Marathi, so they could build their grasp over the language. “These are stories we have all grown up hearing, but she would always add her own twists to them. The children wouldn’t find these tales anywhere else,” Shikha says.

When Madhurata went to the US, for around five months, Shikha’s children began missing these stories terribly. As a passing suggestion, Shikha asked her mother-in-law to record herself narrating these stories and send them across to her. “My mother-in-law’s stories helped my kids familiarise themselves with words they hadn’t even learned in school yet. Sometimes, even the teachers were in awe of certain words they used, which they wouldn’t expect these kids to know,” she says.

On Madhurata’s return, the two women sat to discuss the positive changes they were seeing in the children’s language skills. This experience gave birth to SaY, an online storytelling platform that calls upon narrators of diverse cultures to read out children’s stories in the 22 languages recognised by the Indian constitution.

Preserve, protect, promote

“I thought there must be so many women, like my mother-in-law, who are so learned and have such a strong grasp over their native language but don’t have many options to express themselves. I wanted to amplify their voices in a way that these languages can be preserved, protected, and promoted,” she says.

Shikha says that stories narrated by elders formed a large part of the experiences and memories of her generation, something that she finds is missing today. “Obviously, modernisation and nuclear families have led to this shift but there must exist a balance that keeps a generation rooted in their culture. People want English as their primary mode of communication, but this often leads to kids feeling embarrassed to use their native tongue these days. As we grow older, we look for something that offers us familiarity and comfort. And there’s nothing better than your own culture to fall back on,” she says.

The same sentiment is echoed by 85-year-old Rama Kejriwal from Rajasthan, one of SaY’s oldest narrators, who tells children slokas and stories in Sanskrit and Hindi. “The biggest problem we elders face is that unfortunately, we don’t get a chance to pass on our learnings and experiences to younger generations, especially our grandchildren. Everyone is so busy these days that they have little time to sit down and enjoy stories the old fashioned way. But through SaY, I get the opportunity to reach out to different children,” she tells The Better India.

‘Stories are like khichdi’

SaY began with around 8-10 narrators, who were all Shikha’s extended family members or friends. “We posted a few audio recordings and videos, and I shared it with my friends,” Madhurata says, adding, “They loved it, and said they wanted to show these videos to their grandchildren, and asked if I would do more. I said, ‘Of course, I would love to, but why don’t you do it too?’”

Today, SaY has around 120 narrators, who come from all spheres of life to narrate their stories to children. They don’t come here for any monetary gains but purely for their love of stories and language.

The stories on SaY are a combination of already-existing tales and new ones that the narrators wish to introduce. “I always say — stories are like khichdi. Every house has its own variation and way to make it. So even on our platform, every story has a different twist or version that’s offered by the narrator,” Shikha says.

Madhurata says that while stories in native languages might be available on YouTube, they are mostly in animated form, and have horrible grammar. SaY helps children hear tales in the purest form of the language. With the many psychological and educational benefits of storytelling, what elevates this experience is the presence of an elderly figure, who is often a wise, learned grandparent adding a sense of warmth and comfort to the child’s learning process.

“My mother-in-law narrates this story called Chal Re Bhoplya Tunuk Tunuk, which is a Marathi tale. This version was written for her by her own mother, some 60 to 70 years ago, which you won’t find anywhere else,” Shikha adds. The platform has over 3,500 such tales as of now.

SaY — beyond storytelling

“Currently, we narrate stories in 22 languages, and aim to cover around 70-75 by February 2021,” Shikha says, adding, “We also keep in mind that every region or area has their own version or dialect when it comes to a language.”

For this reason, SaY is also working with over 600 public schools in Mumbai for their Read Aloud project. Here, the parents are encouraged to read stories out loud to children in their respective native languages. Sometimes, they dress up in the attire of their respective states to add to the experience. “When you read aloud to children, there’s more room for them to be able to express themselves with you, as opposed to what they would do while reading alone. It leads to more discourse,” Shikha says.

SaY has also partnered with the Government of India’s Bhasha Sangam to promote regional languages. In 2019, which the United Nations declared the Year of Indigenous Languages (IY2019), it was the only Indian organisation to partner with UNESCO to preserve these languages.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, the platform saw an increase in the number of narrators and children. “Many people shed their inhibitions, in terms of fear of facing an audience or being sceptical of the internet as a safe space for kids, and came to join our platform,” Shikha says. SaY also distributed dongles among underprivileged kids, so they, too, could have access to these stories online. Through donations, and contributions from friends and family, Shikha was able to raise Rs 9 lakh for this endeavour, all of which was invested towards this cause.

Shikha’s 9-year-old daughter, Anaya is also an active member on the storytelling platform. Shikha says, “We gave her this book called Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. When she read it, she was disappointed that there were only two Indian women in it. At the time, she was also learning some basics about gender disparity in her school and was quite disheartened by the lack of awareness of how much women in Indian history have achieved.”

That is how they started the Daughters of India project. The programme began with Anaya recording short episodes on powerful women that have made an impact throughout history. She finds the story of how Rani Lakshmibai fought a battle with a baby on her back to be the most inspirational. “I have recorded 8 out of the 12 episodes so far,” she tells The Better India.

While the podcast began with just Anaya, around 22 more kids, both boys and girls, have since joined in.

‘Magical fairytales’

For Madhurata, the best part about narrating stories is coming up with new ideas and introducing new concepts to the tales for the kids. She says her favourite stories to narrate is that of how Krishna would steal butter, mostly because it is Anaya’s favourite. “Every night, I told her a different version of how his mother would hide the butter and how he and his friends would then find it. Anaya’s friends also used to come to listen to these stories and we’d all enact it out loud,” she says.

Meanwhile, Rama says narrating stories on SaY gives her a feeling of immense satisfaction and accomplishment. “Today, as I see my grandchildren grow and lose their ability to talk in their mother tongue, it saddens me. I hope that SaY India can capture the voice of our generation so that our future generations can benefit. Hopefully, the children can learn one or two things from my stories and talks, and use it to better their lives. ” she says.

Many such stories exist on SaY’s platform. Shikha’s endeavour has neatly tied in two separate generations under one ambit — meaningful storytelling. The elders, with all their sage wisdom, have found a way to express the tales that bind our history, and the children have found a way to embrace native languages amid the fast-moving and ever-changing modern world.

Shikha sums up SaY’s efforts in one sentence. She says, “Spin a Yarn is on a mammoth mission to preserve the magical fairytales and cultures of India.”

To hear the tales that are bringing young children closer to India’s many languages, you can visit Spin a Yarn’s website.

Edited by Yoshita Rao

This article has been published in partnership with Marico.

In several parts of India, especially rural areas, many school students have a common fear — reading a passage from their English textbooks aloud or even holding a conversation in English. It often rouses a feeling of uneasiness which stems from apprehension about a second language and the lack of relatability.

A teacher based in Madhya Pradesh’s Rajgarh district, Jagdish Chaurasia, recognises this fear. He has witnessed it numerous times in his classes where students, too overwhelmed by the rules of the language, would be hesitant to pronounce even short words.

“Words that ended with ‘tion’, ‘sion’ or ‘oo’ often confused the students into silence. As teachers, we tried to do our best to help them overcome that fear, but as non-native English speakers, even we had our limitations. We realised that while the rules of grammar applied to the language remains the same, what is needed is a change in the process of instruction,” says Chaurasia who teaches 20 students from Class 1 to 5.

His point highlights the pressing question around the state of English education in India — in a world where English literacy is increasingly crucial, what is then, the solution?

And, Bhopal-based middle school teacher Vishruta Singh has an answer.

“The fear is mostly because students don’t understand or relate to the words and phrases in the English language. Often they are taught a set of rules to be followed without any explanation of the ‘why’. But, there are alternative ways of familiarising them with English by making it relatable to their native language. Once teachers can break that ice and establish a channel of communication, English is no more a foreign concept,” says Singh, who teaches 83 students, from Class 6 to 8.

A Solution for Change

A teacher of Science and English with over 20 years of teaching experience, Singh believes that this cycle of change begins with the reformation of how English language is taught.

“A teacher is a facilitator who helps students grasp and understand the information in the best possible way. But, information is ever-evolving. So, we teachers also need to keep updating ourselves. Back in the days, when we learnt English, it was done quite differently. There used to be a lot of rote-learning involved which often failed to bear results in the long-run during practical use of the language. And so, those methods cannot be replicated in today’s world where spoken-English has become so crucial. Education, especially in the English language, needs to be more practical and useful,” adds the government school teacher.

Echoes of this realisation inspired Marico’s Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala’s education initiative and the Government of Madhya Pradesh to sign an MoU to introduce a robust Teacher Empowerment Programme.

Singh and many more teachers like her have immensely benefited from the programme that aims to make the English language more accessible than ever before.

The tech-led innovative initiative by Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala in partnership with an NGO, LeapForWord (LFW), is making it possible for the teachers to understand English language education in a newer light. The training not just entails learning the techniques and clearing the basics but also focuses on doing so in an engaging and fun manner. For instance, by comparing common phrases in Hindi and translating them into English, the teachers have found it to be far more effective and relatable for the students, compared to simply memorizing them. One of many techniques of demystifying the language also involves working on pronunciations. For instance, the technique to learn that words ending with ‘tion’ and ‘sion’ often sound as ‘shun’, barring exceptions.

Nihar shanti Pathshala Funwala is enabling this through ubiquitous technology platforms like WhatsApp and Youtube, making it more accessible to a wider network of teachers. The objective here is to democratise innovative and interactive content and teaching approaches to bridge the gap of English education in government schools.

“Creating a robust curriculum and devising the best teaching methods is only the first step. It is followed by the crucial- outreach to as many teachers as possible and implementation on a larger scale. And with Marico’s Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala’s support we have been able to do that across government schools in Madhya Pradesh,” says Ayush Jain, Project Lead – Hindi States, LFW.

Employing this model, Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala has empowered over one lakh teachers in just two months, who in turn will benefit millions of students studying in government schools.

Spreading English literacy in rural India

“We had a dedicated team to establish outreach in remote parts of India, but over time, the physical transit became quite tedious. It was then when we began to shift our focus online to create a bridge of social impact through technology. We began to work on several aspects like improving learning outcomes, identifying impactful solutions, efficiently using existing technologies to make the content more accessible, etc. in rural areas and connecting them to our program with just a click,” says Udayraj Prabhu, Executive Vice President, Business Process Transformation & IT at Marico Limited.

That is when the Teacher Empowerment Programme by Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala in collaboration with the Madhya Pradesh government came into being.

“Since India is becoming a global hub it is a prerequisite for people to know and speak in English, in order to sustain and serve the job demands. Several studies also claim that English literacy ensures better opportunities and an almost 30% increase in annual income. With time it has become a crucial skill for higher education and employment and yet it continues to be inaccessible for many students in rural and remote parts of the country. Our objective through the Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala initiative is to fill that gap effectively,” says Prabhu.

Through the seamless use of technology, Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala has been providing quality education through IVR based training modules, digital classrooms and app-based learning solutions among other efforts in the past.

“Through technology and unique teaching methodology we provide the tools to the teachers, but it is they who then make the best use of it. And, we have been quite pleasantly surprised to see several instances where teachers went out of their way to create innovative and fun videos and content for their students, especially to help them cope amidst the pandemic,” concludes Prabhu.