Public TV’s ‘Jnana Deevige’ initiative comes as a ray of hope for govt schoolchildren

Maruthi Bellur

BENGALURU: When Covid-19 struck and the lockdowns followed, there was not a single individual, be it young or old, whose life was not affected. Students, especially those studying in government-run institutions, took a major hit when education moved from the offline mode to online mode, mainly due to lack of learning aids such as mobile phones and tablets to attend online classes.

It was then that Public TV, under its ‘Jnana Deevige’ initiative, distributed 225 tabs to SSLC students of the Government High School in Chikkabidarakallu two years ago, in association with Rotary Club and other donors. The tabs were to be handed over to the successive batches.

The initiative has paid dividends with students passing the SSLC exam with flying colours. Along with the teachers’ lessons, the reading material provided in the tabs have helped them score more marks, say the students.

Ningamma, a student hailing from Yadgir, scored 621 out of 625 marks in the SSLC exam. Five years ago, after her house was damaged in floods, the family moved to Bengaluru where her parents work as labourers. She studied in Kannada medium up to Class 5 and shifted to English medium after joining school here. By dint of hard work, she has emerged a topper.

Student Ningamma

“My parents were farmers, but all the crops got washed away in the floods. Here, he works as a driver. The coaching here is good and we get guidance for competitive exams too. I topped NMMS exams in Bengaluru too. The tab provided to us also helped a lot. It also helped in self-studies,” said Ningamma.

Priyanka (second from right) with the teachers.

“I secured 98.65 per cent marks in SSLC. I switched to English medium only from Class 6 and I am happy with the result. Our teachers were very helpful and I got support at home too. One app in the tab provided by Public TV was very useful. It had informative videos on various topics. It will help successive batches too”, said Priyanka L.

Headmistress Ramadevi

“We have about 1,100 students in all and 27 teachers who are very good resource persons. We conducted special classes one hour every day and online classes were also conducted. The tabs provided by Public TV greatly helped in securing good results for the school”, said school headmistress Ramadevi.

In the 2021-22 academic year, 380 students appeared for the SSLC exam and over 250 of them have passed. Eight of the students have secured over 90 per cent marks. The tabs will be provided to the incoming batch, school headmistress Ramadevi said.