Published 17:44 IST, September 6th 2020
Good News: Chandigarh girls collect gadgets to help needy students attend online classes
What is being lauded as “great initiative” by several internet users, is ‘Prerna - for you and us’ launched by five Chandigarh girls to help the needy students.
What is being lauded as “great initiative” by several internet users, is ‘Prerna - for you and us’ launched by five Chandigarh girls to help the needy students attend the online school amid COVID-19 crisis by collecting donations of gadgets. With the coronavirus outbreak continuing to tighten its grip across the globe and driving the shift from in-person schooling to online school, several others who were unable to afford internet connections or correct equipment have lost months of their education.
However, these school-going girls themselves hailing from Chandigarh have come together to help those in need and Saachi Ahuja told ANI that till now they have given gadgets to at least 21 girls.
The teenagers are encouraging people to donate their gadgets including mobile phones, laptops for underprivileged girls who are unable to afford the same for online learning. According to reports, it has already been more than four months since the schools were closed due to COVID-19 pandemic and e-learning has posed unprecedented challenges for the education systems across the globe.
Another girl from the group said, “We talked to our teacher and got to know that there are some students who cannot attend e-classes so we came up with an idea of Prerna - for you and us under which we encourage people to donate their gadgets for the needy ones.”
UNICEF says 463 mn children unable to access online schools
The initiative by these girls came into the light just days weeks after it was found out that at least a third of the world’s schoolchildren, that is 463 million children globally were unable to access remote learning. As per the UNICEF report released on August 2, agency’s Executive Director Henrietta Fore described it as a “global education emergency” because for millions across the globe, “there was no such thing as remote learning”.
“For at least 463 million children whose schools closed due to COVID-19, there was no such a thing as remote learning,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. “The sheer number of children whose education was completely disrupted for months on end is a global education emergency. The repercussions could be felt in economies and societies for decades to come.”
(With ANI inputs)
Updated 17:43 IST, September 6th 2020