Humana People to People India is bridging the learning gaps with Digital Classroom Project

Today, technology, in terms of computers and mobiles has become a basic need for everyone. Be it a school student or an IT professional. Our country is progressing rapidly, riding the wave of ‘Digital India’. But when we look back at the students in our rural schools, we find a huge disconnect. A digital disconnect. 

Technology plays a key role in education and in bridging the learning gaps in students. With these facts in India, Humana People to People India envisioned a programme where technology-based teaching and training methods are used in classrooms and implemented in an interesting way.

Humana India, in partnership with Microsoft and Rajiv Gandhi Shiksa Mission, launched the project in Mungeli and Raigarh districts of Chhattisgarh. Digital classrooms were set up in 16 schools in these districts. The schools were selected in consultation with the District Mission Coordinators of the district.

The Digital Classroom Project is being implemented in eight schools in the district. They have every information slides for the students of grades 1-5. These small slides help clear the foundational concepts for children in the subjects of Maths and Environmental Science. It is proven that children learn better through animations. Introduction of such animation in education directly improves the attendance of students in the class. The programme comprises of two modules. The first is the ‘box solution’ where HPPI provides computers, projectors and speakers for each school. all the students are taught through digital content. The second is a digital learning assessment platform, wherein students learn individually. The content comprises of 60 topics which are divided into 3 levels. First level is for grades 1-2, second level for grades 3-4, and the third level for grade 5. These 60 topics, delivered digitally, help students easily understand complex concepts.

This is the first time that a digital learning programme has been launched in these select government schools. Teachers and students are equally excited about this project. Such a project is very essential for regions such as Chhattisgarh as children here mostly come from poor background and they rarely get to use a computer system. Excitement among the students is clearly visible in the school, mostly because of the animations used in the content.

Aditi Sahoo, Student Grade 5, Government Primary School, Andruj Ward, Mungeli, Chhattisgarh says - ‘I have started to learn drawing and typing in the computer. The first thing we learned was how to switch the system on and off, and now we are learning how to type and draw.’

Humana People to People has been working with Rajiv Gandhi Shiksa Mission since past two years in the field of ‘out of school’ children. Since January 2019, the Kadam Out-of-School Children Programme was joined to the ‘Digital Classroom Programme’. Today, all the 16 schools in the two districts are implementing both the programmes simultaneously.

Subodh Bhatt - Assistant Teacher, Government Primary School, Baihakapa, Mungeli, Chhattisgarh says - ‘Due to the issues of Migration and Poverty, the drop out ratio of students in this region is quite high. A migrant child has a huge learning gap and can’t be admitted to grade 1. The child needs to be admitted in age appropriate grade. But their learning level is mostly found to be very low. The Kadam programme helps increase the learning level of such students and mainstream them in their age-appropriate grades.’

The project also includes the component of promoting literacy among unlettered women through the use of technology. The component is slowly gaining traction in the communication. The aim is to use the power of technology in spreading the light of literacy among all the illiterate community members living near the 16 intervention school.

The Digital Classroom Project is being implemented in Mungeli and Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh. The project is benefiting 2,316 students from 16 Government Primary Schools while providing functional literacy to 79 rural women.