Bhubaneswar: The impact of school closures especially on underprivileged children across the world is enormous. For the last one and half years, schools have been closed and it has raised concern among parents on when their kids will return to school again.
This year on International literacy Day, UNESCO has called for increased efforts to expand literacy and digital skills for all. However, even though children from the urban and semi-urban areas coped with online education to some extent, children from rural areas could not make it, due to many reasons such as lack of electricity, internet infrastructure, poor tele-density and/or lack of digital devices.
What is the problem?
- Pre-existing learning deficit among students
- School are closed for more than a year
- Digital divide
- Parents unprepared for distance and home schooling
- Gaps in childcare
- Rise in drop-out rates
- Increased exposure to violence and exploitation
- Social isolation and many more…
School remains the only place where these children, who were affected disproportionately, could have studied. Parents were concerned that the prolonged school closure would result in learning gaps which could be devastating for children. Therefore, Chatashali was opened by nonprofit Atmashakti Trust to bridge learning gaps among children in 17 districts of the state which is mostly represented by children from tribal, Dalits and other marginalised groups.
Increased need for literacy and Chatashali as a cutting-edge solution platform
- It keeps children connected to their education
- Addresses the learning gaps of children
- As it is a community-led initiative, it would foster ownership and collective responsibility among communities
- Mo Chatashali serves as a solution to the barrier of digital education
- In rural areas, government schools are the only place where children learn
- It promotes equitable educational outcomes by providing remedial education to children whose basic learning levels are low
- Bridge the demand-supply gap of education need of the children
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