Rupal Ragha, from Wembley in north London, has been honoured with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Points of Light honour for using her tuition business, Big Brains Tuition, for providing free lessons to thousands of children on Instagram during school closures through the Covid-19 lockdown.
She is a personal tutor dedicated to providing quality, affordable tuition for school children from less advantaged backgrounds. Realising that many schoolchildren would be missing out on education opportunities due to coronavirus restrictions, particularly for students who do not have access to laptops and WiFi internet connections, Rupal decided to use her social media platform to provide an alternative way of reaching out to children, after discovering that nearly half of all adults in the UK have an Instagram account.
Posting two or three Instagram stories per week focusing on subjects such as English, maths and science, Rupal’s lessons are designed to be easily accessible, with hundreds of users tuning in live to watch her sessions.
She said: I am truly honoured and humbled by this recognition and award from the Prime Minister. When lockdown began in March 2020 and schools closed, I felt a duty to keep education going. Instagram is easily accessible to anyone and I’m delighted that children and parents from around the world have been joining the live classes.
“I’ve connected with people from Brazil to New Zealand and I’m truly grateful for the experience. I hope to keep education going around the world for as long as I can. Thank you Prime Minister for this great honour.”
The Downing Street’s Points of Light award recognises outstanding individual volunteers and people who are making a change in their community.
*Info: Big Brains Tuition