BMC school uses digital classroom for holding scholarship classes

A Govandi BMC school is using its digital classroom to conduct scholarship classes for students.

The school which became the first in the city to get a digital classroom a few months ago started the special scholarship classes from last week. At present 36 students of Class V are attending the classes.

“While other schools also conduct scholarship classes, we are making use of digital methods and audiovisual media to teach children. This helps them grasp better,” said Zeeshan Sheikh, the teacher who initiated the idea.

After the Diwali vacations, scholarship classes will begin for students of Class VIII too. By getting scholarship, school fees up to Class X will be waived.

While students in municipal schools do not have to pay fees, the idea of preparing them for the scholarship examination is to help them get into Jawahar Navodaya Vidylayas which provide a system of alternate education for meritorious students. “It will also help in their overall portfolio during job interviews and higher studies,” said Zeshan.

“What children learn in these classes will also help them score better in the normal academic curriculum,” said Zeeshan. Five teachers of Urdu medium BMC schools of Shivaji Nagar area have come together to take the classes.

Though the BMC education department has instructed its schools to give extra classes to prepare bright students for the scholarship examination, Education Officer, BMC Mahesh Palkar said that the civic body has not kept track of whether these classes are conducted or not.

As per a report by the Praja Foundation, of the students who got scholarship in the year 2014-15, only one in 10 students was from a BMC school.

Every year, over 15 lakh students appear for the Middle School Scholarship (MSS) and High School Scholarship (HSS) examinations conducted by the state.