Dressed in a blue shirt and tunic, with neatly parted hair styled into two buns, the humanoid robot named ‘Shiksha’ bears a striking resemblance to other students of Sirsa village. As she begins to deliver the day’s lessons—from poetry to the days of the week, names of different shapes, and more—there is a sense of wonder in each student’s eyes as they take in this remarkable teaching experience.
Shiksha is the brainchild of 30-year-old Akshay Mashelkar, 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 printed charts and blocks as a means of learning. There are no scientific methods available. I want to change that,’ says Akshay Uttam India.
A new way of learning
Born in Sirsi village in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, Akshay grew up in an educational home. “My mother was a teacher and from an early age, I knew I wanted to be a teacher too. While studying, I realized I wanted to work for the betterment of the education system,” he says.
Following 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 to the education system. There was no time to start working with work,’ he says.
When the Covid pandemic hit and the education sector moved online, Akshay found himself relatively free.
“I got the best opportunity to work on my ideas. The most important thing I have seen in the education sector, especially in tier-2 and-3 cities and rural areas, is the lack of modern and scientific methods. Among my many visits to village schools, I have noticed that teachers still teach “I saw using charts and blocks,” he says.
“Those techniques were used when I was in school. It’s sad that the world has progressed so much with smart boards and whatnot, but schools in rural areas are still stuck with handmade charts. This pushed me further to give all my attention to come up with an easy and cheap solution,” he added.
Akshay took a year and a half to research. In 2022, ‘Shikha’ – a humanoid robot capable of teaching up to class 4 in regional languages - was developed.
In India, the education sector has been incorporating technology for teaching purposes for many years. However, its implementation is mainly seen in urban areas and expensive schools. In contrast, rural schools continue to rely on traditional tools such as charts and diagrams to facilitate learning.
Similarly, teachers in government schools have a heavy load of students. A recent one Quint The report said, “The number of teachers in government schools in Karnataka has fallen from 2.08 lakh to 1.99 lakh, leaving 6,529 schools in the state with only one teacher. The student-teacher ratio is now 23:1 compared to 21:1 in 2020-21.” The inclusion of such a device can help solve this problem.
A blend of technology and good ol’ fashion Jugad
It took about 2 lakh rupees to make the robot, which he took from his savings. “There was a lot of money involved in research and development. On an average, it costs around Rs 50,000 to make just one robotic arm. ‘Shiksha’ is a complete robot with many features. I used it because I was able to cut costs. Jugad. For example, I didn’t use a mold for the body of the robot, for the arms I used plastic cricket stumps that you find in toy stores,” he says.
Education can teach various subjects including Kannada and English rhymes; day of the week; name of shape; English letters, and math topics such as multiplication, addition and tables.
Explaining how the robot works, Akshay says, “The robot has two main cards – a master card that unlocks it, and a normal card to start the desired program. The teacher has to keep the master card in the hand of education and then they can use the program card to start different programs. She waves her hand to take the card and returns it after scanning. She asks questions, recites poetry, and even has trivia options,” he says.
The robot has visited more than 25 schools in Uttara Kannada district, including KHB School and Urdu School in Sirsi. As of now, education can teach up to class 4 and the boards have accommodation of the curriculum.
Sunaina Hegde, who teaches science and mathematics at Sirsi’s Model Higher Primary School, says, “Akshay came to our school for education in April. The children were very happy to see him and they showed more interest in the class. For them, education was not a robot but a friend because it was also dressed like them.
“It’s great for students to learn, it’s a great tool for teachers to incorporate in schools. It eases our burden, as there are fewer teachers in government schools. Such an interactive thing helps kids get more interested in science and technology,” she adds.
Akshay commented, “Engaging village children in technology is important because they are also the future of the country. An average child living in an urban environment, from an early age, knows how to operate a laptop and computer. Unfortunately, this is not true for children in rural areas. When the children saw the teaching for the first time, I saw the sparkle in their eyes. They were curious, surprised and excited. ”
“My aim behind creating Education was not only to introduce technology into the classroom, but also to encourage children to build robots,” he says. Taking the thinking further, Akshay has also opened a research center where young robotics enthusiasts can learn for free.
“To keep the cost of running the center low, we keep our center mobile. When we find a cheap place to rent in Sirsi, we move to that place. More than 200 children have attended the center and many are now regulars. They have space to learn from me and use the equipment available at the research center,” he says.
Even though lakhs are spent on primary education, Akshay says that he can reduce the cost even further. “Initially there were many mistakes and many investments in R&D, but now there will be no more. With grants and support from government and NGOs, I can probably reduce the cost to Rs 35,000. This will make rural schools affordable. My only wish is to take education to every rural school in Karnataka and make learning a reality.” It’s about making it fun,” he adds.
If you want to know more about his research center and be a part of his initiative, you can contact him on 74832 76508.
(Editing by Divya Sethu)