There is no denying that the year 2020 was one of the most difficult year for the most of us. The never to be expected things happened, and changed our lifestyles completely. Many of us lost jobs and business went down. Similarly, the whole year was way more tough for the students who were waiting for their 10th and 12thboards, or for that matter preparing for any entrance exams.
Given that the schools were closed and online classes came to existence, it demanded great efforts from the students to adopt to the the changes. While the students in metro cities or two-tier cities were blessed to have all the resources, this became a real struggle for the ones coming from rural areas.
So, to sort this problem of the students in Palamu, Jharkhand, the police their turned into tutors. In conversation with Indian Masterminds, SP of the district Sanjeev Kumar talked about his initiative ‘Police Uncle Tutorial’.
Importance of Class 10
Class 10 board exam is perhaps the first important step for an Indian student in the ladder of life. It determines the shape of future of every individual. It’s the first time when the students facing a competition and this brings immense pressure on them.
This year, the pressure increased manifold due to the outbreak of Covid-19 and countrywide lockdown. Many schools were trying to provide online classes but there is significant section of students who could not benefit by it due to various reasons, often because of unavailability of proper internet connections & smart phones. Apart from this, adjusting to the new way of education was difficult in itself. In these hard times for the students, the Palamu Police have turned out to be their messiah.
`Police Uncle’ Tutorial
Under the leadership of SP Mr. Kumar, the police fraternity started this initiative to help the tribal and deprived students in preparation for the 10th boards. Till now 25 coaching centers have been opened which is helping more than 2500 students in the district.
A separate `teacher’s bank’ has also been created in which many retired and working officers have joined alongside with the present teachers. Talking about the initiative, Mr. Kumar said, “In the past few months, we realized that the students coming from poor economic background and tribes really faced problem in getting proper online classes. Some didn’t have phones, while the internet was big problem in many areas. We didn’t want that this problem to impact their board studies and results. So we came up with this coaching idea. With the help of teachers and officers who are interested in teaching, this move is producing very good results.
Two Birds with One Stone
According to Mr. Kumar, this approach is benefitting the students in two ways. While on one hand the students are getting help in the preparation, on the other hand they are able to connect with police and other people. This has, in a way, created a bond of trust between police and tribes.
