At a time when online education is a challenge especially in remote areas, a primary school teacher in Kutch came up with an innovative idea for taking schools to the doorsteps of students by developing an ‘e-bicycle mobile school’.
The solar-powered bicycle was developed by Deepakbhai Mota, a teacher in Hundrain Bagh area in Bagh village of Mandvi taluka, Kutch district, who travels to remote areas and runs classes in the open using laptops and speakers. The e-bicycle was developed at a cost of about Rs 19,000 and was used to power the laptop. It can run without solar power and on pedals.
The serpentine lanes of Hundraibag area where he first started teaching using the innovative e-bicycle are laden with bushes and foliage making it difficult for four wheelers to commute.
At a time when schools are witnessing thin participation due to fear of a possible third wave of Covid-19, Deepakbhai’s innovative concept is a blessing in disguise, said Narendrasinh Jadeja, principal, Hudraibag Primary School, Wadi. Deepakbhai is also the innovator of Shikshan Rath, the first such mobile education school in the state, he added.
The e-bicycle has features like charging points, battery indicators, mobile stand, USB connection facility, headlight, among others. For the Shikshan Rath, Deepakbhai had converted his car into a mobile school.
"Today informal schools are being widely accepted across the country. Since the Shikshan Rath cannot reach everywhere, I have developed the e-bicycle to ensure that children in remote areas are not deprived of education," says Deepakbhai.
