4th Anniversary of Aksharamaala Online Learning Support Services for Government School Students: A Celebration of Integrated and Inclusive Education
- Campus Updates
- 25 Aug, 2024
- 193
The 4th Anniversary of Aksharamaala - Voluntary Online Learning Support Services was held at the IITH campus by Aksharadaan in coordination with the Rural Development Center (RDC), IITH. With the integrated and inclusive education for a vibrant India as a focus, Prof. B.S. Murty, Director of IITH, underscored that services like Aksharamaala are essential for the nation’s development to extend last-mile support to government school students.
Since its inception in 2020, Aksharamaala, a joint initiative of the Aksharadaan Charitable Trust, IIT Hyderabad, and SCERT Telangana, has provided free online learning support services to government school students across Telangana. This includes improving academic knowledge, career counseling, motivational sessions, and access to an extensive e-library. Over the past four years, the initiative has reached 15,000 SSC students.
During the 2023-24 academic year, Aksharamaala supported 4,000+ students from 70+ government schools across 9 districts of Telangana. Notably, 150 volunteers from 11 top engineering colleges dedicated 11,750+ hours to coaching through the "Connect with GEMS" program. The impact has been significant: 61% of 561 trained SSC students achieved scores above 90% in their board exams, and 25% of 69 trained 8th grade students passed the NMMS Government of India Scholarship exam.
Prof. B.S. Murty praised the volunteers for their service and dedication and emphasized that such integrated and inclusive growth efforts will have a more long-lasting impact than individual growth efforts. Dr. Satish Regonda, Chairman, RDC, IITH has lauded the service being provided by the IITH volunteers. He highlighted the efforts of RDC in educating students in nearby villages, and its efforts also in converting a few villages into model villages through waste management, better sanitation, clean water, etc. Dr. Suresh Babu from SCERT and Sri S. Venkateswarlu, DEO of Sangareddy, also highlighted the crucial role of supplementary support services like Aksharamaala in achieving educational success and fostering motivation.
The event saw the participation of 50 school students and 100 volunteers. Seven top-performing 10th class students of the Aksharamaala (2023-24) were given cash awards and merit certificates by Prof. BS Murty. Additionally, NSS Coordinators and students from the participating engineering colleges, including BVRIT, CBIT, GRIET, NITW, IIT Hyderabad, IIIT Hyderabad, SAHE, SNIST, Vasavi, Vardhman, and VJIT, were recognized with mementos and certificates for their valuable contributions.