The Essar Foundation, as part of its focus on education, launched an initiative aimed at promoting multimedia education and enhancement of English and Math learning abilities. The initiative reaches out to 4,500 students of 22 schools in Burdwan District, West Bengal, where Essar Oil’s CBM project is located.
The program was inaugurated in Higher Secondary School, Bijra, on May 16, 2012, and was attended by the headmasters and teachers of the 22 identified schools.
The initiative has multiple objectives, namely to provide supplementary support to 18 primary schools with English and Math kits for enhancement of learning abilities to reinforce the ongoing learning process; introduce multimedia teaching to engage the students for better understanding and the teachers with the option of an alternate technology to teach with; and thirdly, the English Programme for young adults who need essential language skills, to improve their employability and build their confidence in everyday public life.
The program involves the teachers as core facilitators by capacitating the teachers on the multimedia education and English and Math kits. While the kit is equipped with advanced education material and modern methods to serve as teaching aids for the two subjects, a multimedia instrument, the K-YAN, helps teachers explain difficult concepts easily using animated audio-visual learning aids.
For community participation and involvement, ‘Shiksha Samiti’ (community education committee) members would be trained on the project components to facilitate the implementation process and monitor the progress of the planned activities. The technical implementing agency for the project is IL& FS Education and Technology Services.
This initiative has been much appreciated by the teachers, and the block and district level education officials.
