The priority of JRS Tamil Nadu during the different phases of the COVID- 19 emergency was to ensure continuous access to education of refugee children which was achieved through the Complementary Education programme. Seamless coordination was done to ensure the continuity of education during pandemic period through technological platform.
Hence, to ensure the access to education, virtual classes were held for classes 7th to class 12th. The lessons were prepared by the Education coordinator of JRS Tamil Nadu for Maths, Science and English which were shared to JRS teachers through the medium of WhatsApp. Children from younger age group were engaged in various ways of activity- based learning to promote their literacy and numeracy skills. Awareness was imparted on health, hygiene and nutrition and sessions of personality development were also held as part of the interventions. A YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7zsMXyxTh3ielhUz3Y3M6g) has been created in which videos on Goal Setting, Time Management and Societal Cleanliness to motivate. The sessions on Peace and Reconciliation as well as recitation, declamation and debates helped hone up core competencies like general knowledge, critical thinking, and communication skills while sessions in crafts, arts, theatre, fun games, singing, and dancing helped improve the creativity of refugee children and reduce the COVID-19 induced stress among them. Muthamizh Arasi (13) an eighth grader from Salem district exclaimed,
“Despite closure of schools, my learning has continued uninterrupted. Besides, I have acquired new learning skills to use digital platforms, thanks to the encouraging support of my teachers Ms. Vijitha and Ms. Thayani.”