ITBP men open smart school in Naxal hotbed

Raipur, January 17

Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel have launched an internet tools-based learning centre for schoolchildren in a Naxal violence affected district of Chhattisgarh, officials said on Sunday.

e-connect

• As signal is weak, jawans put phones at a height through bamboo poles
• The network is connected through WiFi hotspot facility to laptop
• The screen is enlarged on a wall through a projector

The smart school is located in Hadeli village of Kondagaon district and has about 50 children who are taught by ITBP personnel of 41st battalion with the help of YouTube videos and other online education portals. Kondagaon district headquarters is over 210 km from the state capital Raipur.

“These classes are organised daily by using internet-enabled phones of the jawans. As the mobile signal is weak, jawans put their mobiles at a height through bamboo poles and the network is connected through WiFi hotspot facility to the laptop,” a senior ITBP officer said. “The screen is enlarged on a wall for the children through a projector,” the officer said.

The classes are usually held in the evening and personnel who are graduates and trained to hold school education sessions are deputed, he said. The children are also shown animation movies and basic learning videos during these sessions, the officer said. The jawans, posted in the district as part of anti-Maoist operations grid, are also learning local Halbi dialect from these children, he said. — PTI