Alternate Learning & Mentorship Program (ALMP) has come to be acknowledged as a transformational approach envisioned by the Govt. for imparting education to ST & SC students in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. With schools and hostels remaining closed affecting regular education and learning among the students, uncertainty loomed large on resuming educational activities. Responding proactively to the situation, Govt. rolled out ALMP from May 15th 2000 to keep ST & SC students connected with their learning process with the objective to motivate them in a meaningful manner during the difficult Covid-19 times. ALMP comprised online as well as offline mode of teaching & learning. E-content were devised & mapped to the Class curriculum & administered according to a definite schedule/timetable. The e-Content was made available to the ST& SC students in a cascading manner through dedicated WhatsApp Groups created for the purpose at the school level. Relevant playlists were also created for Audio-Visual learning of resource materials regarding basic concepts from the lessons prescribed in the syllabus for the Classes through the Department's YouTube channel "e-Suvidya". Students from families having access to Smartphone with Internet connectivity were benefitted with about 51,000 of them availing this facility. Concurrently, in order to ensure that students not having Smartphones are not left behind, a Teacher Mentorship programme was also implemented alongside, wherein the Teachers serving in the Department managed schools started visiting the allotted villages to establish learning focused dialogue with students staying in their homes as also educating their parents on contextual themes like basics of Covid, WASH, importance of adolescent wellness, psycho-social support, parental participation in learning etc. The Mentors urged the parents/guardians to keep their child/ward connected with the teaching-learning processes by following a routine. Several Virtual Trainings/ Webinars were organised for capacity building of these Mentor Teachers on key life skills like importance of student safety, learning continuity during pandemic times. The trainings were held weekly once for nine weeks at a stretch with support from UNICEF, UNFPA while SCST Research & Training Institute, Bhubaneswar facilitated smooth conduct of the programme. 

The publications intended for the students are available for download from the Main page of this link: