Thiruvananthapuram: 'Namaskaram,' a teacher welcomed the class with a salutation, before identifying herself.
“I am Umakutty. I hope all of you are excited over getting promoted to Class VI. I am also in Class VI,” the online class continued. The teacher is an upper primary student of the Cotton Hill Government High School here.
S Uma, started her YouTube channel, ‘Umakutty’, a year ago to provide online classes to her friends for the syllabus she learns. Umakutty does not provide entertainment or information about hobbies.
The channel is an example of the vast potential of online classes, though the debate has mostly been on its constraints and insipid nature. Uma started the channel after the pandemic forced the closure of schools, and she started missing her friends.
The channel, Umakutty, has now become popular among Malayali children in and outside Kerala, and it boasts over 75,000 subscribers and 80 lakh viewers.
Umakutty learns her lessons from the KITE VICTERS channel classes before donning the role of the teacher. She regularly checks messages from friends to improve the ‘classes.’ After the increase in the number of subscribers Umakutty is now assisted by her mother, Advocate Namitha.
The girl’s father, cartoonist T K Sujith of Kerala Kaumudi, and brother Amal have been providing her technical support. Using the channel-generated revenue, she has bought a laptop and camera to set up a small studio at home.
Umakutty is now preparing to learn and teach lessons included in the Class VI syllabus.