Page 47 - EW July 2021 final

India’s wide digital divide

ccording to an India report of Unicef (United Nations • Availability of key offline resources, textbooks and teachers
AChildren’s Fund) titled Rapid Assessment of Learning remain far from universal. Despite many states distributing
During School Closures in the context of Covid (May 2021), textbooks for the new academic year, nearly one in three par-
the closure of all schools since March 2020 has disrupted ents still asks for support with textbooks and other learning
the learning of 286 million children in pre-primary to higher materials. Nearly 30-40 percent of students are not in touch
secondary schools. Of them only 60 percent have used any with their teachers, though this varies significantly by state.
remote learning resources; and even among them, nearly 80 • Remote learning resources are less effective than in-school teach-
percent report that they are learning less or significantly less ing. Other than home visits, more than half of teachers sur-
than in school. The study suggests that the main reasons are: veyed perceive remote learning materials and methods to be
• Digital channels are not as accessible as often perceived. Ten less effective than classroom teaching.
percent of students overall do not have access to any of the • Poor mental health holds students back. About a third of elemen-
following devices — smartphone, feature phone, television, tary students (as perceived by their parents) and nearly half of
radio, or laptop/computer with significant variation between secondary students feel that their mental and socio-emotional
states. More than 10 percent of students do not have access health has been poor or very poor since May 2020.
to mobile phones within or outside of their households. • Students from migrant and scheduled tribes (ST) families face
• Even when students have access to devices, awareness about us- greater challenges. When parents were asked if their children
ing them for remote learning maybe low. Of the respondents who were learning as much as before the pandemic, 15 percent
did not use any remote learning opportunities, 45 percent more migrant parents and 9 percent more ST parents reported
report not being aware of any resources from which to learn. that their children are learning less now. Parents of children
Television and feature phones are particularly underutilised from migrant families (60 percent) and from ST families (53
for learning. percent) rated their children’s mental and socio-emotional
• Fewer girls, younger students, rural students and government well-being as poor or very poor.
school students use high-tech tools. Source: Unicef

This mission proved success- wide, founder-president of ECA
ful to the extent that the Na- and a pioneer crusader for uni-
tional Education Policy (NEP), versal formal ECCE.
2020, presented to the nation To remedy this situation Dr.
last July, accords high impor- Popat Vats suggests that all
tance to ECCE and mandated state governments constitute
five years of early years educa- expert committees of educa-
tion for every child in a new tionists to suggest measures to
5+3+3+4 primary-secondary restart pre-primaries and es-
education system to replace the pecially, the country’s 1.6 mil-
century-old I-XII system. This lion government anganwadis
new format makes three years which provide nutrition to lac-
of pre-primary compulsory for tating mothers and new borns,
all children. Unfortunately, the Dr. Popat Vats: expert committees solution and also a modicum of ECCE
pandemic lockdown has gravely to youngest children. “These
threatened this systemic architecture though children’s learning loss may expert committees could prescribe
and could nullify the long struggle for be contained, their emotional devel- safety measures and examine the fea-
compulsory ECCE for all children. opment, socialisation skills and self- sibility of pre-primary children study-
“I fear that youngest children will respect are certain to be adversely af- ing in clusters of 8-12 in bio bubbles,
suffer greatest damage because of fected. Because of the too prolonged as they do in UAE preschools to pre-
the prolonged lockdown of schools, closure of schools, many years of work vent spread of infection. On our part,
including pre-primaries and day care to impact the value of professionally ECA is prepared to depute ECCE pro-
centres, during the pandemic. Since provided ECCE to children in their fessionals to every state government
infants can’t be expected to mask, most important formative years has committee to suggest baby steps to
maintain social distance and observe gone down the drain,” laments Dr. remedy learning loss and restore nor-
Covid protocols, a majority of middle Swati Popat Vats, president of the malcy in ECCE,” says Popat Vats.
class parents have resorted to home Podar Jumbo Kids chain of 498 owned Inevitably the comprehensive na-
schooling them. In this situation al- and franchised preschools country- tional lockdown of education institu-

JULY 2021 EDUCATIONWORLD 47