Dr. Monica Narang
The Corona virus has created a critical situation around the world with the maximum states struggling to curb the infection and to cure the infected people. Just like every crisis, the general masses are suffering aggravated hardships. This is not just in terms of risk of infection, but also in their inability to cope with preventive measures that have been implemented by the Government. On 24 March 2020, the Government of India declared a nationwide lockdown, which has been estimated to be the largest and most stringent lockdown in the world. To curb the spread of Covid-19 most educational institutions were the first ones to be shut down in mid of march.. But one thing should be remembered that schools, colleges , educational institutions and universities were not closed, only the buildings were closed.. The Teachers and the Staff are working harder than ever as the Administration have shifted themselves to digital platforms for classroom learning and the system has to be continued with digital platform and digital libraries. However, owing to the hasty nature of such decisions and the lack of proper digital infrastructure, both teachers and students are facing a plethora of difficulties
Education is also recognised under Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948. Further, it is a part of Articles 13 and 14 under the International Covenant on economic, social and cultural Rights 1966 to which India is not only a signatory but also ratified it . Though they are soft laws in nature, yet the authoritative interpretations of the provisions can be done in the International Covenants and Treaties.
There are four( A’s ) essential components which define the right to receive an education:
(i) Availability; (ii) Accessibility; (iii) Acceptability; and (iv) Adaptability.
In COVID-19, accessibility and adaptability are in question. In the Indian scenario. Accessibility, it can be stated to be non-discriminatory, physically accessible, and economically inaccessible. Hence, education should be available to all without discrimination , and if necessary accessible via ‘modern technology’. Besides, adaptability entails the flexibility to adapt to changing societal needs of students, such as doing away with lengthy assignments. As with all economic, social, and cultural (ESC) rights; the right to education is subject to progressive realization and the availability of State. However, looking at its dismal state in India, it seems that the government is sidelining these principles. While it has issued guidelines, it has vehemently ignored the prospect of taking proper steps to enable students to access data that it boasts of having curated for online teaching. The issue of Digital Access is the major hurdle in e- learning Quoting the example where a poor man has to sell his cow to buy smart phone for his children to study online.The Covid-19 pandemic has brought to light the deep-rooted that society’s structural imbalances exist even in the digital world. The major issue with remote learning that students have univocally raised is the problem of access to internet, electricity, andproper devices like a laptop, computer, or smartphone to access the content being made available. The Government has clearly ignored the economic status of students and has taken up an over-optimistic view on the availability of proper infrastructure with students.
Electricity too is one of the major essentials for running computers and laptops to access the remote learning platforms. Although the Central Government has ensured 100% electricity but the ground reality fails to bear consonance with their claims. Mission Antyodaya, a nationwide survey of villages conducted by the Ministry of Rural Development in 2017-’18, showed that 16% of India’s households received one to eight hours of electricity daily, 33% received 9-12 hours, and only 47% received more than 12 hours a day. While solar chargeable smart phones can indeed be used for watching educational videos, they cannot be used by students for writing lengthy assignments leading to clear violation of human rights.
The Digital India program gave India the required push towards digitalization, but has not had much success. As per National Statistical Office reports, only 24% of Indian households have an internet facility. Almost 66% of India’s population lives in rural areas and only a little over 15% among them have access to internet connections. In cities, only 8% households with members between 4-24 years age have computers with functional internet. The digital divide that exists in India is seen among class, gender, region, or place of reside. The whole problem needs total revamping to make education go online . This is because in online education how students learn and communicate is totally dependent on their readiness. Many justify it by quoting the open schooling system. However, they fail to take note of the very essential fact that the onus of learning shifts to the student in this form. This needs a lot of discipline, the presence of which again is a very ideal assumption.
The problem also lies on part of teachers who are not used to the e-education platform and often find it difficult to express themselves. Their technical inaptness leads to delivery of ineffective lectures. Also, in a country where 37% of population live in one room accommodation , it would be nothing less than a luxury for students to afford a peaceful environment to study. In the absence of Government-funded infrastructure and of any plans to reimburse data costs, the cost implications will fall on financially weaker students. All this has come at a time when people are losing jobs and family incomes are tumbling, which leads us to fear a rise in drop-out rates as a consequence. Now academic learning has finally been decontextualized and the focus on facts has been reduced. This can mark a new beginning of moving towards an education system that has curricula grounded in students’ realities. It can not only make them literate but rather educated by helping them culminate within themselves creativity, empathy, and resilience.
While closure of educational institutions was a necessary measure to halt the spread of COVID-19, it must be understood that since education is a human right the nation should employ all necessary measures to ensure its continuity in times of crisis. With the existing digital divide, expanding online education will push the digital have-nots to the periphery of the education system. This would again shower all the benefits on the haves only, which is contrary to our spirit of democracy. Technology has the potential to achieve universal quality education and improve learning outcomes. However, this can only be done when there exists a proper digital infrastructure. Thus, the first step should be towards creating a better structured digital infrastructure accessible to all, and one that is no longer seen as a luxury The most important lesson, however, has been that of the role of community. If it takes a household to raise a child, we must empower the household to teach the child. The education system can be improved by adopting a more decentralized and democratic community-based approach. Thus, this crisis can act as a Launchpad for liberating learning from shackles of outdated curricula and the unreasonable emphasis on information transfer.
(The author is Sr. Assistant Prof., The Law School, University of Jammu)
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