Page 64 - EW August 2021

Cover Story

Shirley Pillai digital devices.
Principal, Powai English High How have you maintained learning
School continuity for your children during the
Central government mandated closure of
hirley Pillai is principal of the all schools?
Powai English High School, Since declaration of the lockdown 15
SMumbai (PEHS, estb.1978), a months ago, poor children have been
Maharashtra state board-affiliated substantially deprived of education. I
private unaided K-10 school, with an feel guilty about my school children’s
enrolment of 2,100 students. massive learning loss. About 40 per-
To what extent have you maintained the cent of our students have intermit-
learning continuity of PEHS children dur- tent access to digital devices and we
ing the past 15 months of the pandemic? provide some online learning. But 60
Our teachers put in extraordinary percent have no Internet connectiv-
efforts to learn to conduct online ity or access to digital devices. A ma-
jority of them may well have dropped
classes on platforms such as Zoom
and GoogleMeet. Not just for aca- out of school altogether.
Against this bleak backdrop, we
demics but also for online music,
dance and dramatics. ing in from corporates, benevolent are doing our best to continue to
reach education to our students. We
Many of our students are from individuals, local NGOs and the
low-income households. Therefore, Senior Citizens Group residing in the shortlisted eight habitats in which
our students reside and identified
Internet connectivity and lack of Raheja complex. By May 2021, we
digital devices are common prob- had collected Rs.40 lakh which was one house in each cluster to serve
as a learning centre. Once per week,
lems. In many families, children allocated towards payment of fees of
can access only one smartphone for 200 students for the academic year our teachers trek through the thick
jungle risking their lives. A computer
education. We planned our online 2020-21. For academic year 2021-22,
class timetable bearing these factors we have collected Rs.80 lakh, way equipment shop run by a family
member of one of our teachers serves
in mind. Teachers recorded their beyond my expectation. This kind-
lectures and shared them through ness and compassion has reaffirmed as an exchange point for teachers
to drop worksheets for students to
WhatsApp. We also scheduled differ- my faith in humanity.
ent timings for primary and second- What are your plans to deal with future complete. We also deliver foodgrains
and pulses allocated for the mid-day
ary online classes. Those unable to pandemic disruptions?
attend virtual classes were advised We will continue our fund-raising meals in government schools, to
children’s homes.
to learn from recorded videos and efforts to pay our children’s fees as
connect with teachers on Saturdays many of our parents are still strug- How are your teachers addressing the
to clear doubts. gling with financial problems caused issue of huge learning loss suffered by
Many parents suffered job loss and were by second wave lockdowns. Mean- children?
unable to pay school fees. How did you while, we will continue to improve Twenty percent of our students live
deal with this financial emergency? online programmes and remedy in remote hamlets deprived even of
As a private unaided school, we are children’s learning gaps. conventional telephones. Therefore,
wholly dependent on tuition and Internet connectivity is a distant
other fees revenue to pay our 125 Ganesh Prasad dream. We have no choice but to
teachers and staff. But parents who reach these students in person and
lost their jobs were unable to pay Principal, Sadguru High School, visit them at least once a week to
their children’s fees even after we Chikmagalur
reduced them by 15 percent. This
has hit our finances badly. We were anesh Prasad is principal of
obliged to reduce teachers’ salaries the Sadguru High School, a
by 50 percent to save the situation. Ggovernment-aided private
It’s gut-wrenching to demand that secondary school (classes VIII-X)
parents pay children’s school fees sited in Basarikatte, a remote village
when they are in dire straits. That’s in Karnataka’s Chikmagalur district.
when I initiated our ‘Fee-sponsor- During the past year of pandemic-
ship for needy pandemic-affected induced closure, the school’s eight
students of Powai English High teachers including Prasad regularly
School’ initiative. Our local commu- trekked 10 km through hilly forest
nity newspaper — Planet Powai — terrain to reach education to the
published our appeal for funds which school’s 150 mostly tribal children.
received good response. The plea Sadguru High is set in a distant vil-
also went viral on social media. lage where most children have no
Soon financial help starting pour- Internet connectivity or access to

64 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2021