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An often pondered question as an IITK resident is the direct and indirect influence of IITK on its immediate surroundings. As a part of IITK’s outreach programme and to positively impact the society in the neighbourhoods of IITK, Rozi Shiksha Kendra (RSK) was set up as an institute project to reach out to the nearby villages and contribute towards the employability of rural youth. The Online Rural Education Initiative (OREI) initiative by RSK allows volunteers to provide high-quality education in schools in rural areas.
RSK: The Background
For the past 2 years, RSK has been taking noteworthy initiatives for education, employment, and economic upliftment of villages around IITK. The project was established with a fund of around USD 1.8 million provided in November 2021 by the late Dr. Ranjit Singh (BT/MME/1965). Dr. Ranjit Singh was one of the pioneer batch students of IITK and earned a PhD from MIT working on artificial diamonds (cubic zirconia). Even after being highly successful in his career trajectory, he remembered his struggles growing up in a Kanpur Dehat village, walking miles to reach school. His inner desire to contribute to society materialised in a meeting with the then IITK Director, Prof. Abhay Karandikar, where he proposed starting a project in IITK to realise his vision.
UBA meets RSK: COVID-19 as catalyst
Meanwhile, at IITK, Prof. Sandeep Sangal, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, was leading the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) initiative of the Ministry of Education, Government of India, wherein IITK adopted five villages around it and worked on the educational upliftment of school-going children. However, the COVID-19 pandemic halted the offline mode of education, which was when RSK came up with its innovative educational model. In Prof. Sangal’s words, “The COVID-19 pandemic forced a rethink of UBA’s earlier offline teaching approach. Coincidently, at the same time, we started discussions on RSK.”
RSK came into being in November 2021 with dual objectives: i) to ensure every child’s right to free, high-quality education and ii) to equip youth with the skills needed for dignified livelihoods.
The OREI Model of Education
The Online Rural Education Initiative (OREI) is a method of teaching via smart classrooms, enabling IITK student volunteers to teach on a smart board and interact via a live camera feed with the school students. Initiated by RSK, the programme, in the words of Mrs. Rita Singh, Project Executive Officer, RSK, is “to ensure high-quality education for everyone – rich or poor, far or near“. For the programme, RSK onboarded two partner schools, one each in Bithoor and Lucknow, and with the aid of IITK tutors, started the initiative.
Currently, each school has two allotted periods daily, during which RSK volunteers teach the students online. The students in classes 9th and 10th are taught mathematics, physics, biology, and chemistry, following the NCERT curriculum. Students from IITK volunteer for 2 classes a week and the contribution by PhD candidates can also be counted towards their PMRF teaching duties. OREI today functions with around 30 student volunteers, numerous staff, and some experienced teachers, providing a model to bring high educational quality to schools in rural India.
RSK, in collaboration with Shiksha Sopan, an NGO founded by Prof. HC Verma, a former faculty at the Department of Physics, IITK, has also developed a series of highly low-cost scientific experiments that can be easily replicated with minimal resources. Mrs. Rashika Awasthi, a research analyst at RSK, informed us, “We have developed 80 experiments in physics, chemistry and biology with detailed instruction manuals in English and Hindi, suited for live demonstrations in OREI classes”. Such experiments help students understand the concepts much better.
Early Success
The students and schools have responded positively to the OREI initiative, leading RSK to increase the frequency of online classes in the schools. While the program benefits students by helping in their learning process, it also provides a medium for IITK students to contribute towards societal development. According to the project in-charge, Mrs. Singh, “Through this programme girls have benefitted immensely, as otherwise typically they are denied access to tutors and coaching. So we are also helping bridge the gender gap.”
The Road Ahead
In January 2024, the Government of Uttar Pradesh entered into an MoU with IITK to scale up OREI. On this, Prof. Sangal explains, “We have plans to scale up to 10 more schools in addition to the existing two via other partner institutions that are implementing the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), who can provide much-needed offline volunteer support, such as in-person tutorials.” After the enthusiastic response from the students in the current schools, RSK will start tutorials for Class XI students in the science subjects, starting April 1, to prepare the students for the prestigious JEE examinations.
The end goal of OREI, as Mrs. Rita Singh explains, is “to create our very own Khan academy while also providing much-needed live interaction via a tech-enabled and volunteer-driven programme.” She adds, “IITK is the perfect launchpad for this initiative, given its strong volunteering culture, best resource persons for pedagogy and curriculum design, and an invaluable alumni network. It provides an excellent opportunity for students studying at IITK to contribute to nation-building and understand rural society.”
Design By: Vardaan Vig
Written By: Soumyadeep Datta, Ishaan Jain, Utkarsh Agrawal
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