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JNU students’ virtual aid: Help peers get laptops for online classes

ByMallika Bhagat, New Delhi
Jul 17, 2021 03:55 PM IST

MA students of first year, enrolled with Centre for Historical Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, have started an online fundraiser. This bunch of young guns aim to collect money, to be able to buy laptops and provide for WiFi set-up of their classmates who are out of station and don’t have access to such resources due to weaker economical background.

Since the pandemic, most educational institutions have switched to the online mode of teaching. And this has left many youngsters, especially those from the underprivileged backgrounds, bereft of the right to education due to the difficulty in attending virtual classes in absence of access to resources such as a stable internet connection and computer or laptop. Come to think of those pursuing higher education, whose coursework has been affected due to the lack of access to such resources, and most feel sorry about the situation. But that’s not the case with a bunch of kind hearted first year students. Pursuing Master of Arts at Centre for Historical Studies (CHS) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), they didn’t sit back feeling helpless and instead joined hands to help the marginalised overcome their challenge.

JNU students, from first-year, are running a fundraiser to help their classmates buy laptops for coursework. ((Photo for representational purposes only))
JNU students, from first-year, are running a fundraiser to help their classmates buy laptops for coursework. ((Photo for representational purposes only))

Privy to the hardships faced by their classmates, this group of JNU students have set-up an online fundraiser to procure laptops for them. “Apart from accessing online lectures, laptops are also required to cover voluminous readings. Most critically, they are required to submit the 2,000 word typed essays at intervals of roughly 10 days. This is tough for those who don’t have proper access to digital resources,” says Siddharth Jha, from CHS, adding, “Those without laptops had to either type these out on smartphones (with proper citations), or spend hours at cyber cafes at personal expense. And in the absence of exams, these tutorials were the sole means of our assessment in the previous semester!”

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The underprivileged students have been given ₹25,000 each, to buy a laptop.
The underprivileged students have been given ₹25,000 each, to buy a laptop.

Since the current semester is also being conducted online, these students realised the need to raise funds to be able to provide for the educational needs of their peers. “A few of us compiled a list of those who were in need of laptops and data packs. Then we spoke to some students in Delhi University, who had experience in raising funds for such initiatives, and they recommended us to reach out to our alumni for help... In CHS alone there are 15 students who need a laptop each, for college work,” says Isha P, one of the students involved in this initiative.

Informing about the progress of their initiative, Isha adds, “We have raised more than 3 lakh so far, including donations via platforms and by our alumni. We have handed 25,000 to each student, asking them to send the purchase receipt to us once they have bought the laptop, to maintain the transparency in fund distribution.”

Until now, 12 students have been able to acquire laptops from the money raised by their fellow classmates. And those who have received a helping hand feel that this will go a long way in strengthening their coursework. “I can’t believe they did this for us,” exclaims Vivek Sahu, a first year student of MA (Ancient History). He adds that being from an economically weaker background, he had never attended online lectures before getting enrolled in JNU. “I had to use my mobile for the virtual classes, and reading a small article of 20 pages felt like reading a book of 300 pages, that much strain on the eyes! But thanks to my classmates, now I’ve a new laptop, and am able to attend my classes in second semester with much more ease!”

Author tweets @bhagat_mallika

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