Students turn teachers at this summer camp for govt schools
“The fact that some of the teachers here are also students like us makes learning fun and easy. They speak to us in a language we can understand,” said 13-year-old Asha Kumari, a student.
Room C-12 of Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology-Delhi (IIIT-D), an autonomous research-oriented university was filled with government school students on Tuesday morning, engaged in theatre activities and games.
“The fact that some of the teachers here are also students like us makes learning fun and easy. They speak to us in a language we can understand,” said 13-year-old Asha Kumari, a student of Class 9 in a government school in Kalkaji. Asha was among the 180 children who were a part of a summer camp organised by students of IIIT-D. Students from five Delhi government schools around the area were taught different subjects including mathematics, science, computer science, general knowledge and extracurricular activities, such as theatre, music and sports, among others, by IIIT-D students, who volunteered for the project.
“Even learning about electricity and energy was more interesting since we had to make models like roller-coasters and electrical circuits,” she added. The activity was a part of the annual five-week long free summer camp organised by the Institute for students from nearby government schools.
“The idea came up in a conversation with the deputy chief minister of Delhi a few years ago. We thought of doing something to give back to the community,” Pallavi Kaushik, assistant manager, corporate communications of IIIT-D said.
This the fourth time the camp is being held.
Thirteen-year-old Himanshu Sharma, who studies in Class-8 in RPVV Lajpat Nagar, vouched for it and said that learning mathematics and science was never so much fun. “Further, there is also no fear of marks or grades. We can learn and understand things more clearly,” he said adding excitedly that the food provided to them by the institute was also “very tasty” and one of his favourite things about the summer camp.
Apart from regular subjects, the summer camp also focuses on personality development, communication and life skills. “The camp also helps in dealing with time management. Earlier, we were just dealing with our homework. But now, we manage to attend this camp and also find time to finish our homework,” said Abhishek Anand, Class 9 student in a Kalkaji government school.