Best Practice 1 . Holistic development of students during the Pandemic

The COVID- 19 pandemic caused a paradigm shift to the educational scenario by affecting the academic life and rigour of students. All academic, curricular and co-curricular activities of students were shifted smoothly to the online mode, with students not losing out any activity in the online mode.

Deeksharambam, regular classes, student fests, enrichment lectures, club activities, industry interactions and Samaavarthanam were conducted in the online mode.  Data Scholarships were provided to all students to ensure data connectivity. Student competencies were assessed by customized online tools. Feedback to students were provided online. Regular parent interactions were entertained to ease the mental burden on students and the parents. Continuous monitoring and assessment of students were done with direct and indirect measures to measure the attainment level of students.

A mega event like Rajagiri E-Marathon, the first of its kind, aimed at rejuvenating the mind and body by a therapeutic/remedial long running fitness regime, combining technology and real run was conducted aas part of Rajagiri’s efforts to promote physical and mental health among people of all age-groups across geographies affected by the COVID -19 pandemic,  over a period of 15 days (28/09/2020 to 10/10/2020). The Rajagiri e-marathon was conducted in two stages, in line with the Fit-India and Poshak campaign launched by the Government of India, to help the community achieve physical and mental balance during this COVID-19 pandemic times.  

Best practice 2 :  Initiatives for community well-being through Psycho-social Support and Rajagiri Engagement and Care in social Health(REaCH)

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unstable mental health among the community. The fluctuating work environment and post-pandemic mental health prompted Rajagiri to organize projects in the areas through initiatives like “Telephonic Befriending” through supportive therapy and assertive engagement in communities, for the development of marginalized-sections.

Students and staff are actively assisting the District Mental Health Programme, Kochi Corporation, DDU-GKY and other agencies in providing counselling to the victims of the Pandemic. Training material, audio/video records and other material have been developed for the same for Training for Trainers(ToT) which have been made available to the State Rural Livelihood Mission(SRLM). 

Rajagiri has received recognition from Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education (Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India) as a member of “Beat Covid Campaign” and has constituted student volunteer teams in the areas of Hospital Management, Non-Hospital Management, Support to Affected families, Medical Supplies, psycho-social support to Covid patients and their family members. Appreciation has been received from National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayats, Kochi Municipal Corporation and District Mental Health programme.