The pandemic has put a lot of pressure on people, especially children. Though the state government has launched several initiatives to address the issues faced by the kids, the schools have taken it upon themselves to come to the aid of their students. One such initiative launched by Ramamangalam Higher School in Ernakulam district is a compilation of various programmes aimed at keeping its students safe and secure.

The year-long project called 'Karuthalum, Kavalum' is under way and has seen a lot of positive effects. Programmes titled 'parent-friendly school' and 'online friends' received a lot of attention and takers, said programme coordinator Anoob John. According to him, the school has come up with virtual programmes that aim to develop moral values like kindness, love, and care for their fellow beings besides helping the students in overcoming the limitations of the online education system.

"We have come up with and implemented programmes like 'Unarvu' counselling to help the students overcome depression, Unarvu helpline to help children seek assistance, virtual assembly to give the kids a venue to showcase their talents, yoga classes, an initiative which has them spending time with their elders, providing digital know-how to the parents, a scheme to help the differently-abled children, virtual PTA meetings, house visits by the teachers, a mobile challenge to ensure that every student has the requisite gadget to attend the online classes, distribution of kits, sports academy and 'Sneha Swaram', a phone-in project which has a teacher call up every student twice a month to assess their needs," he said.

Besides these, the school has also come up with and implemented the zero-period initiative, a digital lab to help them with experiments, a digital library to keep up their reading habits, talk shows, and mentoring programmes.