Nuh: With COVID-19 abruptly halting the education system in India, schools and colleges remain shut since late-March, adversely affecting the learning process for students all over.
However, it comes as an added problem for students of Haryana's Nuh where the number of children enrolled in schools is already less, especially the girl learners.
On top of that, the classes have also moved to the online form, the difficulty being access to smartphones for the students.
In the economically-backward, Muslim-dominated Nuh very few have smartphones and those who have, are usually out for work the whole day.
With no possible end to COVID-19 in sight, the education department of Nuh decided to take matters into its own hands and started 'Mohalla Pathshala'.
Under this 'Mohalla Pathshala' mission, the educated youth of the area have been employed as 'sahayak teachers' who take classes of young students at their homes in batches.
Proper maintenance of social distancing, use of masks and sanitizers is also given importance for the classes.
Talking to ETV Bharat's Mohammad Adil Hussain, a sahayak teacher said, he and many like him are teaching the students free of cost without any complaints because they want to put their skills to good use.
"I feel such a sense of fulfilment. It's like doing my bit for the society and I consider myself lucky to be able to teach the future of our area," Hussain said.
Talking about Mohalla Pathshala, District Education Officer (DEO) Anoop Jakhar said around 230 Mohalla Pathshalas are being run in 125 villages of the district. In which 246 sahayak teachers are giving free education.
"Among them, there are about 113 girls working as sahayak teachers so that parents of young girls are encouraged to send their kids for classes," he added.
According to the DEO, about 4500 children are being educated through Mohalla Pathshala across the district.
