Even as cities enjoy the privilege of electricity, thousands of students in villages depend on kerosene lanterns for studying at night. The smoke and heat causes irritation and bring tears to their eyes, but they really have no other option. But there's hope.
Bangalore-based company Selco, set up by Magsaysay winner Harish Hande, has implemented a novel scheme of Light for Education in which each student is given a solar LED lamp along with a light battery. Students can charge the pencil-box-sized battery in the centralized solar charging system installed in their schools. So, back home in the evening, they've got a fullycharged battery. Without fretting about power outages, these kids can study at night.
A Bangalore company is supplying solar lanterns to some schools in Mandya district. Anant Aravamudan , senior technical manager, Selco, said this is a philanthropy project in various rural schools across the state. It has been implemented in 10 schools and Swamy Vivekananda High School in Kunthur village of Mandya district is one of them. "We charged less for providing the solar material and technology . The company bears the cost of installation with the help of donors," he said.
Anant explained that this model has three components - - centralized solar charging system , pocket-sized battery and LED study lamp. "We installed the solar charging system in school. Kids can charge the batteries and take them back home where it can be fixed to the study lamp. A completely charged battery provides light for three hours a day with 2 days autonomy," he said.
The advantages of this model are impressive. For charging the battery, kids don't require grid electricity. It is safe and provides bright light for study and it protects the kids from side-effects of kerosene lamps. "To charge the battery, each student must attend school. This will improve attendance," Anant said.
Arakesh, a Class 10 student of Swami Vivekananda High School, Kuntur village is happy about this solar device. "There's power supply for only 4-5 hours in our village and there are power outages often at night. We couldn't study night but now we can do so," he told TOI.
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