‘Back to Class’ to raise funds for education

KOCHI: Even though schools in the state have started the academic year with online classes, many students are still unable to attend the same due to the lack of facilities. Many politicians, organisations and actors have come forward to donate equipment towards the cause. Progressive Techies, a socio-cultural organisation of Infopark employees, has come up with the campaign ‘Back to Class’ to raise funds and buy electronic equipment for the students.

In the previous years, they ran the campaign ‘Back to School’ for collecting textbooks and accessories for the students across the state. Around 4,000 underprivileged students from 19 schools in Kochi benefitted from this campaign in 2019. “We can’t go out and collect the books or other accessories due to Covid-19 situation. So we changed the campaign to raise funds for buying equipment for the students so that they can attend online classes,” said Anish Panthalani, state president, Progressive Techies.

The campaign was launched on Wednesday and the organisation received around Rs 30,000 on the first day. The challenge faced by the organisation is the unavailability of budget-friendly equipment in the market. “We can’t get a television or tablet within the range of `15,000. So we plan to buy mobile phones within the range of `7,000 to 8,000 and distribute the same,” he said.  As the campaign was launched, they received around 25 phone calls from parents. Though the organisation is accepting major contributions from techies, Anish said that everyone can join the cause. Deserving students will be identified through different schools.

source: newindianexpress