A city doctor has donated money to help set up a smart classroom at a government-sponsored school in Bankura’s Bishnupur, where he had studied more than half a century ago.
Bishnupur High School, where 1,700 students study, had blackboards till now, said an official of the school.
“Thanks to the smart classroom, the students are experiencing interactive technology. The children are very excited,” said Jibanananda Mukherjee, headmaster of Bishnupur High School, which was established in 1879.
Mukherjee said they had made a special routine for students so the smart classroom would be accessible to all of them. The school is from Class V to XII.
Last December, Mukherjee was at the school when Rabin Chakraborty, interventional cardiologist at Medica Superspeciality Hospital, walked in.
Chakraborty had studied in the school for two years — 1965 and 1966 — in Class V and VI.
“For many years, I wanted to pay a visit to my old school but was not getting the opportunity. Last December, I was passing through the area and went into the school,” said Chakraborty.
“The old building has been replaced by a new one but the register where my name was there, still exists,” he said.
Chakraborty then expressed his desire to provide financial help for the students.
“I had initially thought of sponsoring a few students but the school authorities said they were planning to set up a smart classroom, which would help all students,” said Chakraborty.
The doctor provided the funds. He refused to divulge the amount to this newspaper, saying it would be inappropriate.
The smart classroom was readied this year.
Last week, Chakraborty and his wife Arundhati Chakraborty, oncologist at Apollo Multispeciality Hospitals, Kolkata, went to the school to inaugurate the smart classroom.
“I was overwhelmed by their enthusiasm. The students were so excited and several of them told me they were feeling very proud and happy. I was surprised to see that despite not having access to technology, they are quite competent to use it,” said Chakraborty.
A student uploaded information and images of Chandrayaan-3 and explained to the audience about the lunar exploration series. The girl had prepared the presentation as part of a project with her classmates.
According to the headmaster, the smart classroom is helping students get much more information than they used to in conventional classrooms.
“The teachers are uploading the syllabus from pen drives to the screen. They are also downloading information with help of Wifi. This is particularly helping when a student is seeking references on a subject,” said Mukherjee.
“The explanations can be much better with help of real images,” he said.
The teachers of the school have undergone training in information communication technology provided by the state government and so, they are facing no problem, he said.
Mukherjee said several former students of the school offer financial help.
“They usually want to help an individual student who is good in studies. They also donate books for our school library. But, we appeal to them to provide funds for a cause that would help all students,” said Mukherjee.
“We will use the doctor’s example to motivate others,” he said.
