Students miss classes as internet stays suspended
NEW DELHI: For the past 10 days, 14-year-old Kunal Kumar, a Class 9 student of Government Senior Secondary School at Tikri border has not attended studies online as the mobile internet in the area remains suspended. While many school-going students in the area have turned to private tuitions in order to prepare for exams as only some of them have access to a Wi-fi connection.
Kumar, whose father works at a private firm, has not gone to school since the Covid-induced lockdown and had been studying online using his phone. But Republic Day onwards, following violent clashes between the protesting farmers and Delhi police, as the government snapped mobile internet services in several pockets of Delhi situated close to the borders where the farmers have been camping for the past 70 days, Kumar has not attended a single class.
“Earlier, we used to take online classes from 8am to 1pm at our house, but now, because there is no network, I have not been able to attend classes for the past 10 days. We cannot download videos or study material. Now, students in classes 9-11 have been asked to come to school. Our final exams are scheduled to held next month. We are under pressure,” Kumar said.
Prince Thakur, Kumar’s classmate, however, has made an arrangement. He visits his relative’s place nearby, who has a Wi-fi connection. “With Wi-fi, there are no problems. It is slow though but manageable. I only go there sometimes as my parents do not allow me to visit them daily,” he said.
Both the boys and their friends who were playing in the neighbourhood on Thursday morning said their entire day is spent playing cricket, visiting protest sites, eating at langars there and loitering.
Anil Kumar, a father of three, whose children study in class 6, 4 and in kindergarten, said they have no idea how things will turn out. “I have been regularly paying the fees, Rs 500 per child for months. Throughout the year, there were only online classes and now, for the past ten days, they have also stopped. Left with no option I have to send my children for tuition so that they can prepare for their exams,” he said.
Kumar, who runs a shop right next to the Tikri border agitation site, said because of the protest his earnings have also been hit. “To pay the school fee along with tuition fees and for the internet is difficult to afford,” he said.
Adarsh Kumar, 17, a class 11 student who lives a few metres away from the agitation spot at Singhu border, hasn’t been able to attend his online classes for a week now. Due to the pandemic, Kumar’s offline classes at the nearby government school had been suspended since March and he was relying on worksheets as well as online learning.
“The mobile internet here has been slow for the past few weeks but now it doesn’t work at all. We can send some messages on Whatsapp sometimes, but the signal is not strong enough to download files. So, I can’t access any reading material. I have been revising the old ones for a week now,” he said, adding that his sibling who is also in class 11 has to resort to the same.
Though Kumar’s problems may resolve this week as the Delhi government on January 29 announced reopening of government schools for classes 9 and 11, many parents in Haryana are worried about the gap in learning that has been exacerbated by the mobile internet ban.
Panipat resident Suman Malik, 38, mother of two who visits Singhu border agitation site at least four times a week, is one of them.
“Not all schools have reopened in Haryana. While one of my sons has resumed his offline classes, the other one, who studies in a private school, cannot go for in-person classes. Online learning is the only option for him, and he has his exams next month. Besides, students cannot be expected to follow online classes for nearly a year and then just switch to offline classes after an internet ban. There has to be blended learning,” she said.
While senior Delhi Police officers said mobile internet facilities were suspended on the orders of the ministry of home affairs (MHA), ministry officials said on Wednesday that there was no plan to further extend the suspension of internet beyond February 2. However, connectivity in areas near the protests sites continued to be poor on Thursday.
Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait said, “There are so many students who are staying at the protest site, and who have to attend online classes. They have not been able to study since the last one week due to the government’s inhuman and abrupt decision. We request the government to restore the internet connectivity for the sake of students.”
In the evening, Samyukta Kisan Morcha also demanded the immediate reinstatement of mobile internet services. “Along with the agitating farmers, media persons and locals are facing a lot of trouble due to internet ban. Especially students are facing a big problem as their exams are approaching.”