Projects on Community Issues

Student projects on community issues

SHUBHAM Balasahib Chaudhary and Onkar Sarjero Zirange, students of class VI of Jawaharlal Nehru Vidyalaya of Kolapur, Maharashtra, with the use of technology worked on a survey to determine the multiple intelligence of students from a nearby school.The project aimed to find out what students of schools would like to become.

"We prepared online tests for students on the basis of the chapter on multiple intelligence in our English textbook and what we found was that most of the students are quite extraordinary with their creative and visual skills. Maths skills were least developed, ’’ said Chaudhary. Likewise, Anvesha Satpathi and Devi Prasad, class X students of Jawaharlal Nehru Vidyalaya , Sambalpur, Orissa, have raised awareness in their rural surroundings on water-related problems and diseases. As part of the project titled, Towards a safer living,' they prepared a presentation and showed it to the villagers.

"Few families in the villages have now started drinking boiled water," added Prasad.Will they be continuing their work on water scarcity and conservation? The students feel that it is important to educate their classmates before taking their message to the villages. "The youth can change the nation and if we sensitise our classmates, they can play a key role in solving water-related problems," added Satpathi.

Lauding the work of the students, A K Rath, secretary, Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD), said: "Navodaya Vidyalayas are beacons in rural areas. No one has ever thought of them becoming qualitylevel schools with the poorest children winning international prizes for working on community causes.''

Along with students, teachers too were awarded for their projects in rural India. G V S Nageshwara won seven national awards for his work. A teacher in JNV, Visakhapatnam, who worked on raising awareness on energy conservation, said: "I have not attended any technology classes other than what Intel organised for us and then I started working on innovations. After seeing my presentation, the mess workers in my residential school have started using techniques to conserve gas used in the kitchen."


Sunil Sharma
Moderator
Dil Se Desi Group