Kolkata: Perhaps inspired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Duare Sarkar (government at doorstep) initiative, a teacher from Bengal’s Paschim Bardhaman district has brought the classrooms at the doorstep for students in view of the pandemic situation.
Students all over the country have been confined to homes and dependant on online education for more than a year now. In rural areas where a decent internet connection is a luxury, students have either discontinued their studies to earn a living or are sitting idle at home.
Sensing the dire need of the hour, 32-year-old teacher Dwipnarayan Nayek set out to make the difference. The painted blackboards on the mud walls of several houses on both sides of Jaba village will throw light on Nayek’s timely initiative.
Nayek — a teacher of Tilka Majhi Primary School in the Jamuria area of the district — used colourful graffiti, nursery rhymes and social messages, including the need to take vaccines, to draw attention.
“Bengali and English alphabets and mathematics problems and their solutions are written on those blackboards with chalk,” Nayek was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
As a reward, Nayek has earned the title “Rastar Master” (the master on the road) for this unique initiative.
Nayek had even held classes next to a road under trees in eight spots.
“But attending classes under trees was not feasible for everyone due to the presence of insects. Besides, some of them have to help the elders in farming activities. So, I decided to draw blackboards on the walls of their homes and take classes there,” Nayek said.
The teacher kicked off the initiative with only 2 students, but with time the number has swelled over 100 by now. Nayek also considered it important to fight superstition among the villagers. A section of the parents was of the view that those infected by malaria were possessed by ghosts.
“I managed to bring a microscope to the class in the village and showed them the malaria virus of malaria. I showed them how flowers bloom and how trees grow. Most of these children are in the primary stage and they are first generation learners,” the teacher told the agency.
Nayek pulls all his resources and does not charge anything to the students for the service. Family and friends help him in his noble effort.
“I hope I will be able to ensure zero dropout among children in the area when the school resumes. But I would like to continue with the present initiative,” Nayek added.
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