Bhubaneswar: Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) comes handy in Odisha’s Kalahandi and Rayagarh districts in facilitating early education amid the pandemic and digital divide.
According to The Indian Express report, ‘NAND GHARS’ or modernised Aganwadis in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts are seeking the aid of IVRS to bridge the digital divide in the education system.
With IVRS, children from underprivileged families do not have to rely on smartphones in times of online teaching. Using this simple system, early education has become easy for these kids.
Vedanta, under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) project, is catering to the educational needs of around 1,200 children in the age group of three to six years in several villages under Lanjigarh (Kalahandi) and Muniguda (Rayagada) blocks. As many as 50 Nand Ghars are part of this project.
The system acts exactly like the toll-free helpline numbers of banks or other offices. “We have circulated a helpline number among the parents, who give a missed call to the number.
“Then, they receive a computerised call-back. Upon choosing desired options by pressing the phone keys, the parents and children listen to pre-recorded lessons based on Arunima curriculum,” explained Niladri Parhi, head of CSR wing in Lanjigarh.
This initiative by the Vedanta is helping bridge the gap created by online education in which students from poor economical background have to often drop out of education.