A battle for educationThe global pandemic has surely magnified the presence of income disparity in our country. The UNICEF India’s report ‘Rapid Assessment of learning during school closures in the context of COVID-19’ mentions the usage of WhatsApp and YouTube when compared for different categories; girl’s usage was 8 per cent lower than that of boys; usage by younger students (5-13-year-old) was 16 per cent lower than that of older students (13-18-year-old); rural student’s usage was 15 per cent lower compared to urban students and for students of class 1 to 5, government school student’s usage was 10 per cent lower compared to students from private schools.According to the Lancet COVID-19 Commission India Taskforce, only 24% of Indian households have access to internet facilities. As per the Ministry of Education, over 50 million primary school children were not attaining foundational literacy and numeracy due to a lack of proper internet connectivity.This data is extremely worrying. For a country as young as India, its better economic days depend on the educational skills acquired by its young population today. With the method of education shifting completely to online mode, the demands of affording a decent device and a stable internet connection overburdened many economically underprivileged families.The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on girls’ education is going to be massive. The Childline Helpline number 1098 saw a 50% increase in call volumes in 2020 with 4,60,000 calls pleading for protection, of these 6,355 calls related to child marriages. COVID-19 has reversed decades of progress in schooling and in preventing child marriage and child labor. It is also threatening the progress made by us as a society towards gender equality with more and more females at risk of violence and neglect.According to estimations, 11 million girls might not return to schools causing unprecedented education disruption. The main reasons for the girl’s school dropout reported during the pandemic are attached to the financial constraints and increased engagement in domestic.In rural and underserved communities, adolescent girls lack significant agency over learning with insufficient access to nutritious food, sanitation, and basic technology required to attend online classes.Parents in families that own a limited number of devices often prioritize boys over girls for more screen time. Further, gender bias and poor quality of school education also result in high dropouts. At the time of the crisis in most underdeveloped and developing nations, girls are regarded as a liability and married off.Even before the Covid pandemic, India faced a severe learning crisis with nearly 50% of Class V students in rural India unable to read at even Class II level. A recent study by Azim Premji University estimates that 92% of children in Classes II-VI have lost their language skills and that 82% have lost Math skills, the cost of school closures is going to be long lasting and would potentially scar an entire generation.Further, what makes matters worst is the impact on tens of millions of children from marginalized groups with limited access to technology.According to the report ‘Rapid Assessment of Learning during School closures in the context of COVID-19’ released by UNICEF, 80% of the students aged between 14-18 years reported lower levels of learning at home compared to when they attended classes in school. 76% of the parents of students aged 5-13 years and 80% of adolescents aged 14-18 years report that students are learning somewhat less than they would in school. 67% of the teachers perceive students to have fallen behind in their overall progress compared to where they should if schools were open.Most of the schoolteachers found themselves stuck in an awkward situation. The majority of schoolteachers have taught in their life through the traditional ‘chalk and blackboard method’ and a sudden change in teaching methods has caught them by surprise.Most of the teachers are yet to be trained in online pedagogy. Lack of access to and unfamiliarity with electronic gadgets with lack of educated home supervision in the absence of teachers means the socio-economically disadvantaged children fall far behind.UNICEF India’s report ‘Rapid Assessment of Learning during School closures in the context of COVID-19’ estimates roughly 8% of the teachers do not have a personal smartphone or laptop. 33% of the teachers saw no benefits of remote learning.The report also mentions that in rural areas, village youth and community members have stepped up to fill some of the access gaps. This includes teachers using offline resources such as loudspeakers, families, and communities pooling digital devices to share, and older children taking on the role of educators.The prolonged school closures have also caused many children to miss out on learning social interaction and playtime which are essential to their overall development. The quality of education has also been severely affected, from practical lessons to acquiring new skills, offline school and experiences gained used to help students-built confidence, as well as participation and involvement in team activities, used to help them become and evolve into better humans and citizens.However, due to the lack of offline human-to-human interactions, students are missing out on so many lifesaving life lessons and experiences that mould humans into becoming an asset for their country.
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