Are online classes widening the digital divide in education?

The easy online transition of the mode of work (and play in some cases) can only be afforded by the privileged. Not everyone has access to digital solutions, and not everyone has the space and paraphernalia to attend online classes.

On June 2, a Class 9 student from Malappuram, in Kerala, allegedly committed suicide because she was upset that she could not afford to attend the online classes. As marginalised populations do not have access to digital resources and tools, there is also the loss of academic learning, furthering the learning gap. The digital divide runs wide and deep across India.

Inaccessibility to the digital infrastructure and unpreparedness among teachers to transition to online teaching shows the gaps that clearly need to be fixed before we decide to move towards enhanced online learning. COVID-19 has severely impacted India’s educational ecosystem and has lain bare the disparities that exists and quick fix solutions are perhaps not the right way to go about it.

Dream a Dream’s recent report on the readiness of schools in Karnataka to the post-COVID-19 world shares just now unprepared we are. About 95 percent of schools want to postpone exams; they fear that the students may not be able to clear board exams as most schools were still in the process of completing the syllabus when the lockdown was enforced.

The report included findings from our survey with the principals and heads of 853 educational institutions across 28 districts of Karnataka to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the educational system of low-cost private schools, government aided schools and government schools. Ninety-two percent of the headmasters requested a reduced syllabus for the new academic year owing to the loss of instructional time. This request comes close to the heels of knowing that 97 percent of the schools surveyed had very little digital infrastructure to support the delivery of online classes.

The survey also brought forth the sad state of affairs among teachers who have not been paid for the last two months. About 96 percent of the schools require support to address the well-being and mental health concerns of students.

The findings in Karnataka will not be very different for schools across the country; in fact, it will most likely be even worse. Most schools are unclear on how to proceed further and require support for digital learning and online pedagogical solutions.

A recent report by the Digital Empowerment Foundation indicates that 30 percent of our population lags on basic literacy and thrice that for digital literacy. Even if parents have a smartphone, they will not have the money to buy data packs. Parents might even not know how to use some of the digital tools on offer.

Quick fix solutions to pushing schools to conduct online classes cannot be touted as the only solution. First, educational ecosystems need to acknowledge that the pandemic has impacted over 320 million students across India, and has been traumatic for them. Now with the added pressure of having digital infrastructure in place, most students from vulnerable backgrounds will end up dropping out of school.

Schools have always played a significant role in protecting the wellbeing of students, and at this juncture, students need emotional support, rather than the added pressure of online classes.

The educational ecosystem needs to work on the following:

• Ensure mental well-being of students: More systemic interventions are required to equip teachers to deal with the mental health of students and teachers’ well-being.
• Financial assistance for schools: Low cost and other affordable private schools are under huge financial crisis. All stakeholders and service providers need to help build the financial capabilities of schools. Interest-free loans, subsidy in taxes, free online teaching aids, etc. should be provided to support these schools.
• Ensure feasible, accessible solutions for continued learning: The unpreparedness of teachers in delivering online education needs to be addressed. Appropriate teaching aids, digital solutions, and training of teaching staff for remote, virtual, or blended learning should be provided.

There is a definite need to re-imagine the role of schools and teachers in the life of children coming from marginalised communities, with the entire ecosystem becoming trauma responsive. Remote schooling is an option very few can afford. Educational ecosystems need to be inclusive in their approach and respond from a space of empathy. Only then can we hope to overcome the impact of this crisis in a sustained manner.