Meet Anoushka Pallabi Hota, Head Girl of ODM Public School, Bhubaneswar whose fascination lies in flying. “I want to make my career in aviation field and become a commercial pilot,” says the young girl. 

Flaunting the title of Miss East India 2019, this young young girl is also boasts of a number of feathers on her cap, among which, being the national-level theater artist tops the list. “I also take interest in dancing, contemporary painting and swimming,” added she. 

EducationWorld presents its next story on its series Student’s Corner, which puts special emphasis on children and their views, introducing Anoushka Pallabi Hota, from ODM Public School, Bhubaneswar.

Q. Presently, is your school conducting offline classes?

As per the govt orders, our school is conducting offline classes only when permission is granted, otherwise, they are conducting online classes.

What is the general preference amongst students? (regarding attending school and re-shutting of schools amidst the new surge of Covid cases.

Students are anxious/eager to attain school because we also understand the physical presence in the school is a better way of learning as compared to offline. 

As the new surge of Covid cases forced to re-shut the schools and we went back to online classes, but we all are waiting for the school to reopen.

The Students council representative is one of the most coveted positions in schools. How are you carrying out your responsibilities online and amidst the virtual classes? How is it different compared to the pre-Covid times?

Being shut in our homes most of us are becoming addicted to mobiles and laptops which is affecting our studies and family lives. Under the guidance of our mentors, we the members of the student council are organizing motivational sessions, workshops, one-one counseling sessions to boost our friends.

During the pre-Covid times, it was easier to reach out to our friends as they were physically present in the school. Discipline was the major issue but participation was not which in the virtual medium is a very big challenge.

Going by reports, even after re-opening not many students are attending in-person classes. What has the response been like in your school? Is online learning a preferred choice?

The response for offline classes in our school has been good. Online learning is not a preferred choice but as vaccines are not available below 15 years many parents are reluctant to send their children to school, out of fear of Covid.

Since there has been little time for revision of the previous year’s syllabus and the pandemic has caused disruptions in continued education, how do you think the learning gap can be bridged?

In our school, the syllabus was mapped to the time available in the online class along with the time allotted for the revision. Hence, as our school and management had the foresight to launch a learning management system with little disruption in education, very few learning gaps have been created.

These learning gaps are also being quickly bridged with extra classes and doubt clearing sessions both online and offline.

According to you, what is more, viable at this stage? Is it returning to physical classes or a continuation of the online ones?

According to me, the present situation demands a blended/Hybrid mode of learning where physical classes should be conducted when possible or else continue with the online ones.

How has the journey been from March 2020? What changes did you/your friends have to incorporate to continue the pandemic?

The journey from March 2020 has been difficult, many of my friends and I along with my family members have suffered from the deadly disease many have lost their near-ones. Physical activities were reduced, social life was totally disrupted & real friends took a backseat to the virtual world. Financial planning had to be done meticulously to meet the family’s needs. I had to learn a lot about housework to help my family.

How were your practical classes (lab sessions) managed during the pandemic?

We had virtual lab sessions, where we read the theory and teachers showed us the practicals from the lab.

How did you make up for the missing peer interaction? Have you managed to stay connected with your friends?

We were in constant touch with each other over the telephone. Used to meet each other in our online classes. We used to do group study through online platforms. While in our free time we used to catch up over social media.

There have been last-minute changes in exam patterns, evaluation criteria etc. How have you dealt with this?

Our school has always meticulously planned exam patterns and evaluation criteria and made us aware of it well in advance. Last-minute changes have not been made frequently and whenever we had problems with uploading our answer scripts and downloading our mark sheets e.t.c the exam dept and the coordinators have patiently helped us out. And prepared us to deal with it.

What does the government need to do to support children during the pandemic as classes have gone online?

We are privileged to be in a private school with parents who can provide us the resources for online classes but there are children in the remote areas who have missed out on education during the pandemic. The govt needs to give structured support to all these children so that their losses can be made up. Also the govt. should make a uniform assessment pattern for all states and all boards and it should not differ from state-state.

In the absence of in-person interaction with teachers, how do you keep abreast with the latest career options or higher education prospects available to you currently?

In our school, we have an independent career counseling cell named CarrerX which conducts sessions on career options and higher education prospects every Saturday. Social sessions with renowned persons from diff fields are also conducted. Twice a month we can call career counselors for any career-related queries. We also have a unique program called alumni reconnect where we speak to our well-established alumni and get ideas about higher education prospects and different careers.

How did you cope with exam stress? Did you have access to a counsellor who could help you through difficult times?

We always have access to a counselor to whom we can speak confidentially. Our principal, V-Principal, coordinators, and class teachers mentor us time and again to cope with exam stress. We also have special motivational sessions with outside resource persons who give us tips-tricks to cope with stress.

How are you preparing for competitive exams? Are you attending post-school tutorials online ?

Along with preparing us for CBSE, our school has hosted school tutorials for preparing us to face competitive exams.  We have special coaches from reputed institutes who take our evening guided classes both online and offline for such exams. We get question banks specially prepared for competitive to give us the winning edge.

Have you understood the National Education Policy 2020’s takeaways? What is your take on it.

We have been educated on NEP 2020. I personally think that the entire planning is extremely good if executed properly. I am especially delighted with the concept of vocational education as this will provide career avenues to children.

Also Read: Learning loss’ can be bridged if students take responsibility of learning’