Govt to use NCC, NSS volunteers to help students who don’t have smartphones & laptops

Ministry of Education’s ‘Learning Enhancement Guidelines’ suggest community guided support for students who don’t have digital tools or teachers living nearby.

An open-air class for students, who lack electronic devices to attend online classes | Photo: Amarjeet Kumar Singh | Bloomberg | Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

New Delhi: With schools across the country still shut due to the Covid-19 pandemic and most classes moving online, the central government is taking various steps to help students who do not have access to digital tools like smartphones and laptops.

In one such attempt, the government is trying to use volunteers from the National Cadet Corps (NCC) and the National Service Scheme (NSS) for the purpose, according to the Ministry of Education’s ‘Learning Enhancement Guidelines’ released Wednesday.

The guidelines are meant to bridge the digital divide in education that the pandemic has created.

The guidelines suggest community guided support for students who neither have access to digital learning tools, nor teachers or school heads living in the vicinity.

“The local offices/members of NCC, NSS and Nehru Yuvak Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) may be contacted to help the states undertake the task of teaching students. They may require a quick training (online) and perhaps written guidelines,” the guidelines state.

The volunteers can be trained and then allotted a particular area for helping children, the guidelines say, adding special emphasis on reaching out to children who are enrolled in residential schools and are currently at home because of the pandemic.

What NCC & NSS volunteers can do

The guidelines advise the volunteers to take copies of weekly sets of worksheets to a student’s house, as directed by schools; guide parents/students about the worksheet; and teach parents and siblings how to support to the child’s learning.

The volunteers are also expected to identify children having access to mobiles and other gadgets, and pair them with others who do not have any gadgets.

“Volunteers can create a mobile bank wherein people in the community can donate their old smart phones,” the guidelines read.

Apart from NCC, NSS and NYSK volunteers, the guidelines suggest that superannuated teachers, educated volunteer parents or student-teachers can also be contacted. Students who have completed school or college and are not yet pursuing anything can also be involved for teaching young learners.

Children of migrant labourers

The guidelines also speak about identifying the children of migrant labourers and reaching out to them through volunteers and community support. People from the community can identify children who do not have gadgets, including children of migrant labourers, and report about them to the local authorities, who in turn, will contact them for help.

“In case children of migrant labourers are not being traced, a helpline number can be issued and also posters publicising the need of education for all children need to be posted at prominent places,” the Ministry of Education states.

The guidelines have given a number of options like community teaching and mobile schools for students who do not have access to devices.