The Government of Maharashtra’s Integrated Tribal Development Project has started the Mobile Science Laboratory Project for tribal students of 16 Ashram schools in the Naxal-affected Gadchiroli district.
In this project, a mobile science laboratory will move from one school to another so that the students can acquire practical knowledge of science. The project is currently designed to operate in the Dhanora, Etapalli and Bhamragad blocks of the Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra. These blocks are the worst hit by student dropouts.
The mobile science laboratory will visit 16 Ashram schools on a predesignated route. The three blocks where the project has been started are the most Naxal affected and are very backward. The 16 Ashram schools here are residential schools which impart education up to the secondary level to children belonging to Scheduled Tribes (STs).
According to reports, the dropout rate in these schools is very high. After doing a survey in these 16 schools, the officers found out that children do not have even a basic knowledge of science.
“Due to language problems, most students who attend class do not understand scientific terms and their meanings. Hence, it was decided to teach science to them practicals so that they can grasp it easily,” informed officers.
According to officials, since the labs are very expensive the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) wanted to start their project with reduced cost. They thought of making a mobile science laboratory which would move from place to place. This will cover all 16 schools. The children will learn science and a little bit about astronomy and climate change also.
The Mobile Science Laboratory is an imaginatively designed mini-van which accommodates science lab equipment and apparatus like a telescope, resistors, test tubes, etc. and a television to air science videos and documentaries.
The MSL, along with two teaching fellows, will visit Ashram schools and teach students scientific concepts by way of demonstrating experiments (learning by seeing), showing educational videos, and playing interesting games while also giving students a chance to perform experiments themselves and allowing them to engage deeply with the material. The topics covered include concepts and experiments from physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, climate change and ecology.
(with inputs from ANI)
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