During my routine cycling last week, I rode to a residential model school similar to the one I had studied. The joy and hustle of students on the campus was missing. The deserted look was disheartening. The dark shadow of the pandemic has loomed large on the education of this generation.
The concept of online education has confined students to their homes and restricted the growth dimensions. I could only meet the security guard at the gate. I picked up a short conversation and enquired about his family. He had a daughter and a son. He was happy to let me know that he had purchased one cycle for his son. We exchanged our contact numbers and I made my way back promising him that I would return after the resumption of classes.
This week, I got a call from the man. His voice was low and he told me that online classes had resumed and the single smartphone available at home could not cater to both his children. So, he wanted to sell off the bicycle and buy another smartphone so that both of his children can attend the classes. I felt bad for him, and said I would help him in selling the bicycle.
The disruption and the divide the pandemic has brought in when it comes to access to online education is huge. The poor who are already facing loss of livelihoods due to the pandemic-imposed lockdowns and other restrictions, are finding it difficult to afford smartphones. So, the question of haves and have-nots has now hindered the access to basic education for children.
The next stage of the problem lies in the extent of penetration of good Internet connectivity so that the there is clear access and clarity in communication in what is being taught. We keep reading about children in rural areas walking miles and climbing roofs to catch the signal to find the required connectivity.
The impact of the pandemic on education is yet to be ascertained in totality and some reports have already indicated millions of children dropping out of school. If that happens, the social and economic consequences are going to affect us for a very long time. So, isn’t there a plausible solution or are we yet waiting for the pandemic to vanish to deal with its repercussions? The first part of the problem lies in the access to smartphones. Like the free bicycle schemes, can the governments come out with free smartphone schemes? Or can we afford to wait till the pandemic ends and lose a few years of education and also deal with the gap in its access? Also, the consumerism that had existed in us for many years has stocked us with unused smartphones. Can the recirculation of these phones help to make smartphones accessible to the poor?
The second part of the problem is in the strength of connectivity. The state must speed up the access of high-speed Internet to the nook and corners of the country. The problem is real and will turn sour if left unattended for any longer time.
The digital divide in the country is threatening the very basic structure of our society in these times of the pandemic. When there were talks of universal access to free higher education, we have taken a big step back by failing to ensure access to basic education. It’s high time that we acted or else the future generations will hold us accountable for failing to act when it was really necessary to.
Published - August 08, 2021 01:38 am IST
