Odisha: Govt official takes initiative to telecast online classes on television

NEW DELHI: In a bid to bridge the digital divide for students who face connectivity issues and don't have smartphones, a block education officer in Odisha's Ganjam district has taken the initiative to telecast online classes through the local cable network.

The videos modeled on YouTube classes will be encoded by the cable operators and telecast during a scheduled time slot, said Abhinash Satapathy, BEO of Chhatrapur. It will be accessible to maximum number of students as almost every household has a TV with a cable connection, he said. "We have discussed with local cable operators and sarapanchs in three blocks - Chhatrapur, Khallikote and Ganjam - through the respective block development officers. The classes will start airing in the next three to four days," Satapathy said. "We have also proposed to the government about conducting classes through the cable TV network... so that more and more students can take part," the BEO added.

The slots will be allotted after talking to the parents and based on the convenience of the students. The content will be telecast multiple times to ensure children do not miss out on the classes, he said. Earlier, the headmaster of Mundamari Primary School in Dharakote block in the district, Surya Narayan Sahoo, had adopted this method in at least seven panchayats, sources said.

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