Smart classes in high school located in remote area

KORAPUT: Students of a high school in a remote area of Odisha's Koraput district are experiencing an all new method of teaching as the administration has converted their traditional classroom into smart classes, an official said.

With high-speed internet, interactive screen, web cameras, digital podium, 3-D animation, graphs, interactive topographical sheets, animated videos and virtual laboratories for science, the smart classes not only keep the students of Kumuli high school under Borigumma block at par with private schools but also enables teachers to track the learning level of students and the learning process more accessible.

"It's an attempt to bridge the digital divide and to provide students with a better classroom experience. Undoubtedly, the smart classes will enhance the student- teacher interaction and will give students a better understanding of concepts," Koraput Collector Abdaal Muhammed Akhtar said.

Established in 1956 with a student strength of 410, including 200 girls, the high school is situated at a distance of about 60 km from the district headquarters town and the block administration has spent around Rs 5 lakh for setting up the smart classroom. "No special fund was allocated for the smart classroom. With convergence of various schemes under the central finance commission (CFC), the smart classroom was prepared," said Satyanarayana Sethi, assistant engineer, Borigumma block.

According to the official, in addition to the smart classroom, the block authorities have established an open gym and a children park for the overall development of the students. "Studying in smart classrooms is a completely new experience for us and we are very happy for it. Now getting one in our own school makes us proud. Now we can download study materials and store it in a pen drive to use it in future," said Subha Laxmi Hota, a class 9 student.

Meanwhile, the district administration has decided to convert classrooms of at least one school in the 14 blocks of the district into smart classrooms and the funds will be taken care of by the district mineral foundation (DMF). "Presently, it has been decided to provide smart classrooms for Class 9 and 10 students and subsequently it will be provided to students of Class 6 to 8," the collector said. "Apart from schools of the state education department, Adarsh vidyalaya and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya have been included under the project to be converted into smart classrooms," he added.

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