<p>In Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Kanker district, children in over 100 government schools, which are suffering from a lack of teachers, are now learning basic mathematics through an innovative method of video lectures in Hindi.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The brainchild of Kanker Collector Shammi Abidi, the video lecture database titled 'Setu' (bridge) is currently being used for running a remedial course in mathematics for class IX students and for weekly training of primary and middle school maths teachers who do not have the subject background.<br /><br />The district falls in the under-developed Bastar region where government schools suffer tremendously from lack of teachers. To add to the woes, skilled teachers from outside are reluctant to come to the conflict-ridden zone and the locals lack the training.<br /><br />Understanding the problems it posed for the future generations, Abidi took it upon herself to do something to change the situation.<br /><br />"The remedial course for maths is being run in more than 100 high schools where a significant improvement has been observed in the learning level of the students," she claimed.<br /><br />"Such an initiative in a systematic and effective manner is being taken arguably for the first time in Hindi medium government schools of the country," the IAS officer told PTI.<br /><br />The course was started in the current academic session and shall be completed by the middle of this month, she said.<br /><br />"Video lectures were developed with the help of screen- casting technology, similar to the technique used in video lectures of an internationally known academy," she said.<br /><br />The Bastar region faces a problem of lack of teachers particularly for mathematics and science.<br /><br />However, after launching of 'Vidya Mitan' project by the government, the problem was solved to a great extent but still interior pockets are devoid of teachers, she said.<br /><br />The video lectures concept was introduced to address the problem so that students from these areas could get some kind of guidance, she said.<br /><br />On how the method conceptualised, Abidi said during a review exercise in December last year, they came to know that the students of class IX and X are unable to carry out basic mathematical calculations.<br /><br />Lack of skill was also found among teachers as a large number of maths teachers at the primary and upper primary level are from the arts background. According to DISE (District Information System for Education) report 2015-16, there are 188 upper primary schools in Kanker where mathematics is being taught by teachers who graduated in arts subjects.<br /><br />"This has a direct effect on the learning levels of students," the Collector said.<br /><br />It was realised that to improve the learning, video lectures could be of great use.<br /><br />A lecture database which covers mathematical concepts in Hindi language was not available in the market. Hence, it was decided to develop these videos indigenously, she said.<br /><br />The database consists of 63 videos and each spanning 30 minutes. All are scrutinised by maths teachers of senior classes in schools.<br /><br />It covers basic mathematical concepts ranging from those taught in classes III to VIII, including numbers system, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, equation, percentage, proportion, etc.<br /><br />Besides, the database will help students solve numerical questions which are asked in subjects like economics, physics, chemistry, biology and geography.<br /><br />The schools are supposed to screen Setu videos with the help of TV/projector and hard disk, according to a time table set on a daily basis for class IX students.<br /><br />Active involvement of the teacher while screening the video lectures is a must. At the end of every lecture there is a set of questions for self assessment, Abidi said.<br /><br />Similarly, training of primary and middle school maths teachers has been arranged at cluster level, she said, adding that so far 538 teachers have been trained.<br /><br />To assess the impact of video lectures, a sampling of Girrhola high school and Chawadi high school of Charama block was done. The data shows that there has been a significant improvement is learning levels via Setu, she said.<br /><br />These lectures have been uploaded on YouTube so as to benefit students of the Hindi belt. The videos can be accessed by searching 'Setu Chhattisgarh' on YouTube, she said.<br /><br />A similar project named 'Pragya' is also being run by Kanker district administration to tackle the problem of shortage of science, mathematics and English teachers in high/higher secondary schools of the district.<br /><br />The project has been replicated both inside and outside the state.<br /><br />Setu and Pragya differ in the technology used, the target segment and their purposes, Abidi added.</p>
<p>In Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Kanker district, children in over 100 government schools, which are suffering from a lack of teachers, are now learning basic mathematics through an innovative method of video lectures in Hindi.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The brainchild of Kanker Collector Shammi Abidi, the video lecture database titled 'Setu' (bridge) is currently being used for running a remedial course in mathematics for class IX students and for weekly training of primary and middle school maths teachers who do not have the subject background.<br /><br />The district falls in the under-developed Bastar region where government schools suffer tremendously from lack of teachers. To add to the woes, skilled teachers from outside are reluctant to come to the conflict-ridden zone and the locals lack the training.<br /><br />Understanding the problems it posed for the future generations, Abidi took it upon herself to do something to change the situation.<br /><br />"The remedial course for maths is being run in more than 100 high schools where a significant improvement has been observed in the learning level of the students," she claimed.<br /><br />"Such an initiative in a systematic and effective manner is being taken arguably for the first time in Hindi medium government schools of the country," the IAS officer told PTI.<br /><br />The course was started in the current academic session and shall be completed by the middle of this month, she said.<br /><br />"Video lectures were developed with the help of screen- casting technology, similar to the technique used in video lectures of an internationally known academy," she said.<br /><br />The Bastar region faces a problem of lack of teachers particularly for mathematics and science.<br /><br />However, after launching of 'Vidya Mitan' project by the government, the problem was solved to a great extent but still interior pockets are devoid of teachers, she said.<br /><br />The video lectures concept was introduced to address the problem so that students from these areas could get some kind of guidance, she said.<br /><br />On how the method conceptualised, Abidi said during a review exercise in December last year, they came to know that the students of class IX and X are unable to carry out basic mathematical calculations.<br /><br />Lack of skill was also found among teachers as a large number of maths teachers at the primary and upper primary level are from the arts background. According to DISE (District Information System for Education) report 2015-16, there are 188 upper primary schools in Kanker where mathematics is being taught by teachers who graduated in arts subjects.<br /><br />"This has a direct effect on the learning levels of students," the Collector said.<br /><br />It was realised that to improve the learning, video lectures could be of great use.<br /><br />A lecture database which covers mathematical concepts in Hindi language was not available in the market. Hence, it was decided to develop these videos indigenously, she said.<br /><br />The database consists of 63 videos and each spanning 30 minutes. All are scrutinised by maths teachers of senior classes in schools.<br /><br />It covers basic mathematical concepts ranging from those taught in classes III to VIII, including numbers system, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, equation, percentage, proportion, etc.<br /><br />Besides, the database will help students solve numerical questions which are asked in subjects like economics, physics, chemistry, biology and geography.<br /><br />The schools are supposed to screen Setu videos with the help of TV/projector and hard disk, according to a time table set on a daily basis for class IX students.<br /><br />Active involvement of the teacher while screening the video lectures is a must. At the end of every lecture there is a set of questions for self assessment, Abidi said.<br /><br />Similarly, training of primary and middle school maths teachers has been arranged at cluster level, she said, adding that so far 538 teachers have been trained.<br /><br />To assess the impact of video lectures, a sampling of Girrhola high school and Chawadi high school of Charama block was done. The data shows that there has been a significant improvement is learning levels via Setu, she said.<br /><br />These lectures have been uploaded on YouTube so as to benefit students of the Hindi belt. The videos can be accessed by searching 'Setu Chhattisgarh' on YouTube, she said.<br /><br />A similar project named 'Pragya' is also being run by Kanker district administration to tackle the problem of shortage of science, mathematics and English teachers in high/higher secondary schools of the district.<br /><br />The project has been replicated both inside and outside the state.<br /><br />Setu and Pragya differ in the technology used, the target segment and their purposes, Abidi added.</p>