While the grim prospect of coronavirus sticking around for a longer duration is a reality, the empty classrooms are going to get filled with students soon as academic work begin again. The imminent likelihood of examination taking place before the year end and the initiation of a new academic year pose challenges for school administrators, students, and parents alike.
To maneuver this crisis and to get academic life in the district on track, Ukhrul base NGO Participatory Action for Sustainable Development (PASDO) and Principal’s Association of Recognised Schools (PARS) have joined hands to ensure that students can get back to classrooms safely to begin learning again.
Under this joint cooperative initiative, PASDO and PARS have jointly launched a health camp with the motto ‘Adapting to Covid-19’ at Phila Foods Training Centre, PASDO Complex at Khuilung Tang in Hungpung village on Friday. During the launch of the programme, PASDO provided a hand sanitizer machine and 250 face masks free of cost to each of the ten partner schools under PARS, besides free information related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking on the occasion, Project Director PASDO, Gajendra Prasad Mohanty, explained that, “Through this health camp initiative, we are providing free safety equipment in the form of automatic hand sanitizer machines to all the partner schools for protection of their teachers and students before commencement of the new academic session”. Further assuring continued support to the partner schools, Mohanty wished all the schools with good academic progress.
In his speech, PARS President, Yarmi Kashung lauded the PASDO for its relentless efforts in reaching out to partner schools with support and assistance from time to time since the last many years. Kashung observed that despite education being an important sector, most organizations in the district have shown little concern for the welfare of the schools, teachers, and students. He stated, “PASDO has been fulfilling this need for encouraging teachers and students for their efforts to do something good in their academic struggles” while adding that the NGO has been initiating different extracurricular activities for the students like awareness camps.
Kashung, who is also Principal of KTL Higher Secondary School, expressed gratitude on behalf of PARS to PASDO for providing the much need hand sanitizer machines and face masks to help the private schools fight against the pandemic situation. During this programme, demonstration of how to operate the automatic hand sanitizer was provided to the participants. The machine has a capacity of up to 5 litres of disinfecting liquid which can be refilled easily.
This event was also attended by a group of Principals from partners schools under PARS including Ukhrul Central School, Public School, Alice Christian High School, KTL Higher Secondary Schools and others.