Poor Net: Undeterred By Disability, He Rides Through Remote Villages To Teach Children

Malkangiri: With the online education remaining inaccessible for the school students of remote areas, a physically challenged teacher has taken a personal initiative to visit them to teach despite the hardship in the neighbouring Sukuma district of Chhattisgarh.

After the schools were closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the second wave, the Chhattisgarh government announced to facilitate the students with online education. Though the teachers were tasked to teach with the help of the internet, the tribal students of remote areas in Sukuma district were deprived of it. While their parents cannot afford the smartphones, poor internet connectivity added to their woes.

Despite his physical disability, teacher Ram Kumar decided to ensure that the students are not deprived of education. Driving a three-wheeled scooter, he visits 5 villages every day to teach the children.

Kumar has been devoting two hours of teaching to the students of each village on daily basis for the last six months. After arriving at a village, he tells the students to gather under a tree or a make-shift shelter and starts the class by ensuring social distancing among them.

“The children are very fond of Kumar Sir. Besides teaching from the school curriculum, he creates awareness among the children about safety measures to be taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus like wearing face masks, washing hands and maintaining social distance,” said a villager.

On his endeavour for the children’s education, Kumar said he took up the responsibility after realising that their future was at stake. “I thought of contributing whatever possible on my part to ensure their education. So I virtually converted my three-wheeler vehicle into a mobile school. I hope my efforts will help the children in their education to some extent,” he added.