Palakkad: The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the extend of the digital divide as online classes turned out to be a bane for many students. While, Anamika Sudheer, a 14-year-old girl from Attapadi took hold of the situation as she started 'smart school in my village’ - a students' self-learning community. Astounded by the teenager's efforts, the Universal Records Forum selected her as the ‘Youth Icon of this year.’
Anamika did not have any access to smartphones, computers or television. Along with learning her own lessons, she reached out to those who were not privileged to access gadgets. The temporary school in her front yard aids students in learning English, Hindi and Malayalam. With the insights gained from her own studies, she even teaches German.
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Besides the 'Youth icon of the year' title, she received many appreciations and accolades for her effort in abridging online education to her fellow community members. She is a student of Jawahar Navodhaya School in Thiruvananthapuram. She had to come back to her home town due to COVID.
Presently, Anamika is the ‘teacher’ to as many as 13 students. Anamika has decided to continue with the classes in front of her house until the school reopen and regular classes begin. The youth icon dreams of becoming an IAS officer and helping the society.
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