Many students face fight to stay connected
NEWDELHI: With schools in the city to remain closed till July 31 in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, and online classes to continue till then, students from economically weaker families continue to stare at an uncertain future in the absence of devices and Internet connections to help them learn through online education.
While many parents, whose children could not attend online classes before the summer break, said they are trying to arrange devices now, some said they won’t be able to do so due to financial constraints and the challenges they have been facing since the lockdown.
The schools will start virtual education and impart lessons online from the first week of July.
Malkeet Singh, a resident of Tilak Nagar, has been out of work ever since the nationwide lockdown was announced in March to curb the spread of the spread of Covid-19. His daughter (7) and son (11), have not attended any online class since the academic session began online in April. His children are enrolled in two private schools in Rajouri Garden and Paschim Vihar — in class 2 and class 6 respectively — under the Economically Weaker Section
(EWS) quota.
Singh, who was working as a contractual driver in a private firm, said that he has requested some of his friends to help him buy a used smartphone now.
“I have been out of work since March. We were thinking that schools would resume physical classes by July and our kids would be able to start attending their lessons. But due to the prevailing situation, it is unlikely that schools will reopen even after July. We are standing where we were in March. We still don’t know what to do. I have asked my friends for some financial help to buy a phone for them to study when the schools reopen (virtually) now,” he said.
Singh is not alone. There are several like him who lost their jobs during the pandemic or are not making enough even after resuming their jobs. They now cannot provide their children with devices such as smartphones, laptops or tablets ever since the lockdown came into force.
Schools in Delhi have been shut since March 19, though they have switched to online learning by conducting classes via video conferencing and sharing study material on Whatsapp groups. Both the government and private schools closed for summer break between May 15 and June 30. The government on Friday announced that all schools would continue to remain closed till July 31 and online classes would resume by the first week of July. Some private schools have already resumed online classes after the break.
Lakshman, a carpenter in Punjabi Bagh, said he has not got any work despite the lockdown being eased. His son, a class 2 student enrolled in a private school under the EWS quota, has not been able to attend any online class yet since they don’t have a smartphone at home. “I am a labourer and I make sofas for contractors. No one wants to call us home for work fearing infection. Even if I buy a smartphone by taking some loan, I won’t be able to afford the Internet packages. I have to feed the family first. I seriously fear my son will lose an academic year to the pandemic. He has already missed the internal exams held online in May,” he said.
The principal of a private school in south Delhi, on condition of anonymity, said, “It’s the duty of the state and central governments to provide the said equipment to the schools. Then the schools will provide them to their students. We cannot provide them to all students. Schools are under immense financial crises since the fee collection has dropped drastically amid the pandemic.”
Similarly, thousands of students enrolled in government schools in Delhi also can not attend online classes or access e-learning material due to the logistical challenges. HT had, on June 19, reported that only 58.5% students enrolled in Delhi government schools could access e-learning in April and May.
Many government school students are also worried about online classes being resumed the first week of July.
Binay Bhushan, the director of the DOE, said the department has sought details of students who do not have access to devices and the Internet from all its schools. “We are planning to come up with a wider plan to cover most students from July. The government will soon unveil a plan to impart e-learning till the schools resume physically,” he said.