OWSA launches Lifelines Education in Rajasthan
OneWorld South Asia has launched a phone-based knowledge delivery service to provide critical academic support for teachers and students in Rajasthan, a western Indian state. The service has been started in Udaipur as a pilot project, which will be extended to other districts of the state at a later stage.
Jaipur: A phone-based knowledge delivery service to provide critical academic support for teachers and students – first of its kind in Rajasthan – was launched yesterday in Jaipur at Birla Auditorium by the state’s Education Minister Kali Charan Saraf during a state-level teachers felicitation ceremony.
The teachers assembled from all over the state appreciated the live audio-video demonstration of the process, which was presented by OneWorld South Asia.
- The Minister makes the inaugural call/ Photo credit: OWSA
The minister was the first one to ask the question on the Lifelines. He asked about the reasons for less rains in Rajasthan. The innovative phone-based system replied to his question through a recorded voice mail system.
Saraf in his address urged the community of teachers and students to avail this unique facility.
He explained that this Lifeline service has come about through public-private partnership under Rajasthan Education Initiative.
The pilot project will remain operational for a period of one year, costing Rs 63.45 lakhs.
Saraf also said that teachers would be able to place a high value on their professional identity through this joint effort.
Rajasthan Education Commissioner Shubra Singh informed that the pilot project was being launched in all 11 blocks of the backward tribal belt of Udaipur, benefiting approximately 12,000 teachers in 3,545 primary and 1,146 higher primary schools.
She added that there were plans to extend the service to other districts of the state.
UNICEF State Representative for Rajasthan Samuel Mawunganidz also spoke about the role of teachers in building national character and urged them to adopt modern techniques being made available to them.
OneWorld South Asia Director Naimur Rahman informed that Lifelines project has been in operation since November 2006. It was first launched as helpline for rural farming communities in north India.
Presently the service reaches out to a population of over 100,000 farmers in 2,066 villages across 25 districts in four states of India – Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
Lifelines Education project also serves the teaching community in the Bardhman district of West Bengal, reaching out to around 2,000 teachers in 571 schools in 164 villages.
