Rural Karnataka Teacher Built Robot to Make Learning Fun for Students

Dressed in a blue shirt and jacket, his hair neatly parted into pleats, the humanoid robot named Shiksha bears a striking resemblance to the rest of the students of Sirsa Village. As you begin to introduce the lessons of the day–from rhymes to days of the weeks, names for different shapes, and more–there is a sense of wonder in each student’s eyes as they take in this wonderful learning experience.

Shiksha is the brainchild of 30-year-old Akshay Machelkar, and aims to make learning fun and interactive “Growing up in a village I was very aware of the limitations of schools in rural areas. We still use charts and printed blocks as a medium of learning. There are no scientific methods available.” says Akshay : “I want to change that” India’s best.

A new way to learn

Born and brought up in Sirsi village in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, Akshay was brought up in an educated family. “My mother was a teacher and from a young age I knew that I wanted to be a teacher as well. While studying, I realized that I wanted to work for the betterment of the education system.

Following in his mother’s footsteps, Akshay became a professor at a college in Sirsi after completing his degree in Physics. “While I enjoyed my work as a professor, I had many ideas to apply in the education system. With this work, there was no time for me to start working on it though,” he says.

When the COVID pandemic hit and the education sector moved online, Akshay found himself relatively free.

“I found the perfect opportunity to work on my ideas. One of the most important things I have seen in the education sector, especially in Tier 2 and -3 cities and rural areas, is the lack of modern and scientific teaching methods. On one of my many visits to schools in the village, I saw that teachers were still using Blueprints and cubes for teaching,” he says.

“These methods were used when I was in school. It is sad that the world has advanced so much with smart boards etc. but schools in rural areas are still stuck with hand made schemes. This has led me to pay more attention to bring an easier and cheaper solution,” Add.

It took Akshay a good year and a half to do the research. In the year 2022, ‘Shikha’ – a humanoid robot capable of teaching in regional languages ​​up to Class 4 – was ready.

In India, the education sector has been integrating technology for teaching purposes for several years. However, its implementation has been observed primarily in urban areas and in expensive schools. On the contrary, rural schools continue to rely on traditional tools such as charts and drawings to facilitate learning.

Moreover, government school teachers are overburdened with students. newly Quint The report states, “The number of teachers in government schools in Karnataka decreased from 2.08 thousand to 1.99 thousand, forcing 6,529 schools in the state to have only one teacher. The student-teacher ratio is now 23:1 as compared to 21:1 in 2020-21 “. Including such a device can help solve this problem.

A combination of technology and the good life Jugad

The robot took nearly Rs 2 lakh to build, which he took from his own savings. “A lot of money has been used in research and development. On average, it costs around 50,000 rupees to make just a robotic arm. ‘Shiksha’ is a complete robot with many features. The reason I was able to cut costs is because I used to Jugad. For example, I didn’t use a mold for the body of the robot, instead I used the plastic cricket stumps you find in toy stores for the arms.

Siksha can teach different subjects including rhymes in Kannada and rhymes in English. week days; Names of shapes of the English alphabet, and math topics such as multiplication, addition, and tables.

Explaining how the robot works, Akshay says, “The robot has two main cards – the main card which unlocks it, and the normal card to start the required program. The teacher has to place the master card on the hands of the shiksha to start it and then they can use the program cards to start different programmes. She moves her arms to take card and return it once it’s scanned in. She asks questions, reads poems and even has trivial choices.”

The robot visited more than 25 schools in Uttar Kannada district, including KHB School and Urdu School in Searcy. To date, Shiksha can teach up to Grade 4 and has adapted the curriculum across the boards.

Sunaina Hegde, who teaches science and mathematics at Senior Model Primary School in Sirsi, says, “Akshay came with Shiksha to our school in April. The children were very happy to see her and showed more interest in the class. For them, Shiksha was not a robot but more like a friend because he was He wears like them too.”

“While it’s great for students to learn, it’s also a great tool to include in schools for teachers. It lightens the burden we have, as there are fewer teachers in public schools. There is something very interactive that helps kids gain more interest in science and technology.” .

Akshay points out, “The importance of involving village children in technology is because they also represent the future of the country. An ordinary child living in an urban environment, from a young age, knows how to operate laptops and computers. Unfortunately, this is not true for children in rural areas.” When he saw The children shiksha for the first time, I could see the sparkle in their eyes. They were intrigued, amazed and excited.”

“My motivation for making Siksha was not only to bring technology into the classroom but also to encourage kids to make their own robots,” he says. Thinking ahead, Akshay has also opened a research center where young robotics enthusiasts can come and learn for free.

“In order to keep the cost of center operations down, we keep our center mobile. Whenever we get low-cost places to rent in Searcy, we move there. Over 200 children have visited the center and many of them are now regulars. They have the space to learn from me and use the tool provided at the research center , he says.

Although his first shiksha cost him a lot, Akshay says he can reduce the cost even more. “There were a lot of mistakes and a lot of R&D investment in the beginning, but now there won’t be any. With the help of grants and support from the government and NGOs, I can reduce the cost to Rs 35,000. This way it will be cheaper to afford rural schools. My only wish is Take shiksha to every rural school in Karnataka and enjoy learning.”

If you would like to find out more about his think tank and be part of his initiative, you can contact him on 74 832 76508.

(Edited by Divya Sethu)