Tamil Nadu Teacher Extended Her Helping Hands To Teach Children Who Can't Afford Online Classes

The pandemic has brought a lot of changes in people's survival and had put several barriers to lead a normalised life. Since the first wave arouse, children, are not been able to go to school and hold classes in the physical mode. However, education is not restricted to schools, online classes had been started to continue the education system but a lot of people are present who are not able to afford the online classes. For such section of society, few government school teachers themselves had taken the initiative to teach the children and have gone beyond and extended their helping hands.

A similar example who had inspired a lot of people is Meena Ramanathan who works as a teacher at Kavarappatti's Panchayat Union Primary School. She has been directly contacting pupils in two villages around the school in Viralimalai. For reaching the village, she rides her scooter for more than 10 kilometres. Her classroom may be set up in a small open area, where she ensures that all kids wear masks and are seated with ample space between them.

She delivers Tamil, English, and Math to pupils in grades 1 through 5. Her teaching has piqued the interest of children in Class 7 and 8 from different schools, who come to her classes. The campaign, which began in March 2021 and was briefly halted by the second wave of Covid, was resumed in July after she realised the students were in desperate need of assistance.

She explained that initially put up a WhatsApp group for my Class 4 students. Many parents eventually inquired about the school's reopening, while she realised that this academic year, too, schools would not reopen anytime soon. As a result, I resolved to take action.

She claims that word of her attending classes travelled so quickly in the villages that students gathered in one location even before she arrived.

She expressed her grief, as she witnessed how these kids had lost the essentials, but it was not their fault. She began with the essentials, similar to a bridge course. They've all taken to it quickly.

Meanwhile, the satisfaction on parents' faces when they see their children attend sessions with enthusiasm is palpable. The majority of them are low-wage workers who believe in the value of education.