Paraplegic school teacher gets appreciation letter for e-lectures

Our Correspondent

Advertisement

Nawanshahr, June 13

Pooja Sharma, a lecturer of English at Government Senior Secondary School, here, who is suffering from paraplegia with 80 per cent disability, has received an appreciation letter from the office of the District Education Officer for delivering e-lectures to students against all odds and preparing English workbooks for Classes XI and XII for 2020-21 academic session during the lockdown.

District Education Officer (Secondary) Sushil Kumar Tuli, in the letter, appreciated the positive attitude and strong willpower of Pooja Sharma and said the way she organised virtual classes on TV, radio channels, YouTube and WhatsApp for students amid lockdown was commendable.

I always wanted to educate the masses and for that teaching was the best career option. I never allowed my disability to become a hurdle in achieving my goals. I was honoured by Education Secretary Krishan Kumar in 2019 for achieving 100 per cent results in my subject in the board exams. Also, I received honour from the Chief Election Commissioner for motivating and bringing awareness among differently abled about their right to vote on January 25, 2020. —Pooja Sharma, lecturer

He said she was an inspiration for those who were battling with disability. Her recorded English lectures for Doaba Radio, All India Radio (Patiala) for Classes XI and XIII have been widely shared on social media platforms and have guided innumerable students. Besides, her video lectures being telecast on DD Free Dish, Swayam Prabha, DD Punjabi and other national channels, as per the schedule given by the state Education Department under the ‘Ghar Baithe Sikhya’ programme, had attracted a lot of viewers and were being highly appreciated, he added.

Talking to The Tribune, Pooja Sharma said she was into teaching since 2001.

“I always wanted to educate the masses and for that teaching was the best career option. I never allowed my disability to become a hurdle in achieving my goals. I was honoured by Education Secretary Krishan Kumar in 2019 for achieving 100 per cent results in my subject in the board exams. Also, I received honour from the Chief Election Commissioner for motivating and bringing awareness among differently abled about their right to vote on January 25, 2020,” she said

She said she has been playing an important role in the state’s education team that prepares ‘Root Word of the Day’ for the senior classes since the past one year.

“I had made sure that studies of students did not suffer during this lockdown. I thoroughly prepared all e-content and had made sure to deliver it in a way that’s easily understood by the students,” she said, adding that she was a leisure-time writer who had also penned articles on challenges of e-learning, aspects of education and social issues.