Packed halls for PM address, kids all ears

Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) claimed that they used virtual classrooms and projectors to screen the address to maximum students. “We tried to reach out to as many students as possible in all the civic schools. We have also recorded the speech for students who  missed it or want to watch it again,” said BMC’s education committee chairman Vinod Shelar.

While several schools had made arrangements to screen the PM’s address and included it in the Teachers’ Day programme itinerary, several others could not do the same and will show the recorded version to students on Saturday. Some schools, which could not screen the PM’s address on Friday, have instructed their students to watch it on their television sets at home and note down the points, which will be discussed in school.

As per the report sent to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) by the Maharashtra School Education Department, 4,061 schools across the city confirmed the screening of the PM’s address.

Ashwini Bhide, state school education secretary, said, “The number of schools that screened the PM’s address are yet to be known. But from whatever little feedback we got, it seems that there was a very good response.”

BMC Urdu school in Dharavi watch Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Teachers’ Day address, which was telecast live on Friday.

WHAT STUDENTS FELT:

“It was a great experience to listen to the Prime Minister. I wish even I could have asked him a question. I wanted to ask him what he thought about the  state board curriculum as compared to ICSE and CBSE, as the state board curriculum is often looked down upon.”

(Utkarsh Salvi, Hilda Castellino High School)

“I attended it because my friend insisted. I thought it would be boring, but it wasn’t. We too have written questions that I want to ask the PM on the feedback form that our school provided.”

(Mayank K, HVB School, Marine Lines)

“Our school will screen the recorded version of the speech on Saturday. However, my sister and I were eager to view it live so we watched it on television. My principal has asked me to share my experience with other students at school.”

(Gaurav Shekatkar, Goregaon Municipal School)

WHAT PRINCIPALS FELT:

“I think the children could connect with the speech as the PM spoke about the challenges before our country and the need to conserve water and electricity. These are issues that children these days are conscious about. This was a step in the right direction as the PM experimented with technology and reached out to students.”

(Avnita Bir, Principal of RN Podar School, Santacruz)

“We could not arrange the live telecast of the speech in school as it was a half day for students and we could not arrange for their drop back to home at 5 pm. We did try, but we could not change the programme at the last minute. However, I instructed students to watch it on their television sets. Though I have been unable to take a detailed feedback, most students said they liked his approach towards students. We have planned to conduct a test on the speech and a debate based on it.”

(Gool Ghadiali, Principal of Gopal Sharma International School, Powai)

“I could not take students’ feedback about the speech as it was quite late. Our classes generally gets over at 2.30 pm but on Friday students had to wait today till 5 pm. However, I could make out that students were interested as they were cheering throughout. Initially, they were a bit distracted as the connectivity was weak because of heavy rainfall in Panvel, but soon they were hooked to the speech. We have planned to hold a debate among our senior students to discuss the PM’s address.”

(Kalpana Dwivedi, Principal of St Joseph’s High School, Panvel)

“The students were very impressed. Several children said finally they felt that we had a PM, who engaged directly with students and showed his concern towards the students community. Parallels were drawn with former president APJ Abdul Kalam. As I didn’t make it mandatory, students stayed back on their own and were genuinely interested in watching the speech.”

(Ranjini Krishnaswamy, Director-principal of Billabong School, Thane)

“Modi’s eloquent handling of students’ queries has impressed us immensely. It marks a decisive moment in India’s nation building. Our children were excited about the PM’s address. They watched it keenly and with a sense of pride. We had a special screening for around 50 students.”

(Sudeshna Chatterjee, Principal of Jamnabai Narsee School, Vile Parle)

“We had declared a holiday for students on September 5, so there was no point cancelling it at the last minute. We celebrated Teachers’ Day on September 4. However, we asked all our students to watch the PM’s address at home and note down key points. We will hold a discussion with our students on Saturday.”

(Seema Buch, Principal, Gudecha Education Academy, Kandivali)

“We have a television and a radio set too. But with Teachers’ Day falling on Friday, when there is no electricity in our area, we were worried as we wanted to screen the speech live. We called all our students at a risk. Luckily, there was no power cut and our students could enjoy the PM’s address without any interruption.”

(Arun Bhoir, Headmaster of Adarsh Himalaya, Virar)

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