MARGINALIA
How Covid-19 deepened the
digital education divide in India
Someone has to have a smart phone. Someone has to pay for data. On-line education means many are falling behind, says Lakshika Mathur.
Covid-19 has been tough on everyone but it has been tougher on those who lack the money and the technology to allow their children to benefit from digital education. Some did try to think out of the box. Some teachers went out of their way to help students pay attention to classes and to engage and hold their attention when this meant peering at the screen of smart phone. The committee of Karad Municipal School, Satara, Maharashtra unanimously decided to create a studio and telecast videos of classes via local cable network. But in general, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have been disastrous on the education system. But children from lower-middle-class and working-class families were struggling to stay afloat.
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Once again the ever-increasing class divide shows up. For most families and students, the virtual world has been an unfamiliar one. In some families, the smart phone may belong to the earning member, generally the father or an elder sibling, who needs it in order to connect with the workplace or with employers. If there are two or three children at different ages, who gets the phone? And for how long? Who pays for the data?
And it won’t be over when the lockdown is over. Teenagers who fall behind in their schooling run a higher risk of dropping out entirely and falling victim to child labour, child marriage, and other kinds of exploitation. Some families are doing everything they can so that their children don’t face the problems they’re facing right now.
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Marginalia presents three stories of children who faced various problems during the pandemic and how they overcame them.
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Rajesh Gujjar; 17 years, Jaipur (Rajasthan)
"I am working hard today, to be a doctor in the future."
I’m the eldest son in my family. I always wanted to become a doctor so I am usually busy with my studies. My parents are vegetable vendors in a small market, but they still support my younger sibling and me in our studies. Papa always says, “We gave up on studies very early, that’s why we’re small vendors, but I want both my kids to do something big. Never give up!”
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When COVID-19 came about, things totally changed. Our schools started classes digitally, and we didn’t have the money to buy smartphones. My parents lost their work, and I didn’t want to burden them, so I started searching for work. Every morning I left my house to look for work, but there wasn’t any. It was a challenging situation. My parents started selling vegetables, door to door, but we were still not getting enough to buy a smartphone.
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I could not study for around 4-5 months. This was very hurtful. One day, my uncle told me about a shop where I could work. I went to the shop and the first thing the shopkeeper said to me was “You can start today, but I’ll not pay more than Rs. 200 per day”. I needed that job. So, I said, “Ok, saahab, whatever you say.” The first thing that came to my mind was that if I work for one month, I’ll earn enough to buy a smartphone.
Accomplishing dreams is not an easy journey
As a child, I used to go to the market with Papa, and I felt it was fun to move around. But from the day I started working, I understood that no job is easy, and working ten hours without any break wasn't something I wanted to do my whole life. This job motivated me to work hard to achieve my dreams. My parents asked me to leave the work that I was doing and to find something else, but I did not want to delay my studies. I worked there for around a month and left. The day I got the money, I immediately ran to buy a smartphone. That day, I was super happy because that was something I bought from my salary and now I could continue my studies without any problem.”
Pooja Ajay Jangid, 29 years, Jaipur (Rajasthan)
“Parents struggle to keep up with school fees payments”
I got married at the age of 18. After that, my husband, Ajay and I shifted to Jaipur from Niwai which is a small village in Rajasthan in search of work. My husband found a job in a factory just after coming to the city. He worked there for seven years, and I was working as a tailor. Within three years of marriage, we were blessed with two girls, Meera and Ruhi. We sent them to a reputed school. But in COVID-19, Ajay lost his job, and I too didn’t get any sewing work. So, we were unable to pay our daughters’ school fees and rent. Ajay said we should go back to Niwai. But somehow, I convinced him to stay in the city. My one daughter is in the second and the other is in the third standard. They both are good at studies and never miss their classes.
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I did not want my girls to go back home as our families back home are conservative. If we went back home, my girls might never have gotten a chance to study further. But since my husband is very supportive, he dropped the idea of going back to the Niwai.
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The situation wasn't good enough, we were not even getting sufficient food. We were not included under any government scheme through which we could get some financial help or ration facilities.
Earning for the family all alone is not easy.
The situation wasn't good enough, we were not even getting sufficient food. We were not included under any government scheme through which we could get some financial help or ration facilities. My only concern was the fees of my girls. So I tried everything possible. I went to their school and begged the authorities to give us some time. The school gave us a month’s time. Ajay and I went to different places in search of work. The situation was just like the initial days when we came to Jaipur. But this time, we were more helpless. I was also ready to work as a housemaid for my girls’ education. I went to various houses, but no one gave me work.
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We were losing hope, but after some days a lady for whom I stitched clothes long back called me. She was the owner of a fancy clothing store, she asked me to sew 500 masks for her. My eyes were filled with tears. I was extremely gratified to get that work. Just after the call, I went to the nearest temple and thanked the Gods for sending her.
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Then I started working day and night for her and within 10 to 12 days, I completed the order. My husband and children helped me with this. I felt like the most responsible member of my family as I was the only earning member of the family. I never thought that I would be able to handle all the expenses. This was the first time I got 5000 rupees for my work. The next day I rushed to my girls' school and paid their school fees. For the first time in my life when I took the responsibility for my children's education and understood its value. From that day, I've been getting orders from madam to stitch 300 to 500 masks every month. Ajay is back at the factory, and we're doing everything possible for our girls’ education.
Sandhya Sharma, 13years, Jaipur (Rajasthan)
