A collaborative initiative in Kolkata aims to bridge the digital divide faced by underprivileged students

The initiative called  #PoraShunoCholteyThak (#SikshaNahiRukegi – Education will not stop) has been possible through a collaboration between Kolkata Police, CRY – Child rights and You, and Bharti Airtel.

The event was launched at the Police Library at Ripon Street where top officials of Kolkata Police handed over the devices and data packs to the children.

Said a beaming Papiya (name changed to protect identity), a student of class 10 at a school in Behala and staying at Taratala CPT Colony, “It was extremely difficult for me to keep up with studies as I didn’t have a smartphone of my own and couldn’t follow the lessons. Nor could I access work-sheets given by our teachers. Now that I have a smartphone, it will help me to catch up with day to day classes and continue my studies.”

Tiasha (name changed), a girl of 11th standard in a South Kolkata school said, “We have only one smartphone, but I cannot access it, as my mother used to take the phone to her work. So I could not attain my online classes every day, and missed my activity tasks given at school.”

Kolkata Police Commissioner Soumen Mitra IPS, said, “This is a small attempt on behalf of KP to ensure that school going children, especially those in their adolescent years, belonging to families that cannot afford the digital access to learning, do not fall prey to frustration and resultant susceptibility to crime – both as victims as well as perpetrators.”

“During the pandemic, Kolkata Police has been relentlessly trying to work closely with community people and trying to help them in many different ways. It was at such a time the idea of bridging the digital gap for underprivileged children came up from one of our very senior officers, and we didn’t wait to take it up,” said Mitra.

Mitra thanked Airtel and CRY for partnering with them in this initiative.

Siddharth Sharma, CEO – West Bengal & Odisha, Bharti Airtel said, “Airtel is proud to be a part of this unique initiative with Kolkata Police and CRY ensuring adequate access to education for underprivileged children during this pandemic.”

Mohua Chatterjee, Programme Head for CRY Operations in Eastern India said, “This programme will not only link the children with education, it will also ensure that they are not engaged in child labour or get married off under-age. Our aim is to keep the children safe and free from any abuse and ensure an enabling environment to learn and grow.”

The initiative identified children from five police station areas within the city.

Close to 50 children have received mobile phones with a three month data pack, and in due course 300 children will be reached out in the first phase of the initiative, the organisers said.

CRY will support Kolkata Police in tracking children for online classes and ensure that they are able to make use of the device and the data for their learning thereby, create an enabling learning environment for children to continue education and not engage in labour, early marriage or trafficking, and work closely with families and other government stake-holders to ensure a safe environment for children.