Wayanad: Congress provides 175 smart TVs to tribal students for online education

The Kerala government is running virtual classes – ‘First Bell’for school students of the state through the KITE Victers channel and other online mechanisms since schools are closed due to Covid-19 pandemic. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, July 1, 2020, provided 175 smart TVs for tribal students in Kalpetta town of Wayanad district.

Earlier in June, on the occasion of Gandhi’s birthday, he provided 50 television to the district administration to provide online learning to tribal students. District Congress Committee President IC Balakrishnan reached out to the MP’s office in Kalpetta to review the procedures related to the distribution of television. Balakrishnan said, “As MP, Rahul Gandhi has received a lot of support during the lockdown. When the online study was launched on June 1, many tribal students from Wayanad were out of the project due to a lack of learning facilities.”

He further added, “Following that, Rahul Gandhi had written a letter to the Chief Minister and Wayanad District Collector Adeela Abdullah. The district collector had provided the figures for the tribal students in need of the facility. He has also distributed over 100 televisions each in the constituency in the Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.”

Earlier, Gandhi had written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan about the large number of tribal students in Wayanad who are unable to benefit from “First Bell” initiative by the state government as they do not have access to TV or internet. In his letter, dated June 1, Gandhi said, “While it serves as a temporary alternative, its success depends on students’ access to digital infrastructures like computers, smartphones, cable television and reliable internet connections.”

“This is particularly troubling given the high dropout rates among tribal students in the district. I would be glad to extend my support and assistance towards the procurement of devices for students in underserved communities and request that you share with me details of these communities and their specific requirements,” Gandhi said in the letter to District Collector.

Source: ANI