ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY AND DIGITAL CONVERSION OF CLASSES AND EXAMINATIONS

Profile of the Author: Bhagyashree Chauhan is pursuing her final year in BBA.LLB from Symbiosis Law University, Hyderabad. Her primary areas of interest are Constitution, Criminal Law and Socio-Legal issues.

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 have univocally raised is the problem of access to internet, electricity, and proper devices like a laptop, computer, or smartphone to access the content being made available. The government clearly ignored the economic status of students and took an over-optimistic view of the availability of adequate student infrastructure.

In order to reach remote learning platforms, electricity is one of the key necessities for operating computers and laptops. While 99.9 percent of rural electrification is available to the Central Government, the ground reality does not adhere to their statements. A national survey of villages conducted by the Ministry of Rural Development in 2017-18, Mission Antyodaya, found that 16% of Indian 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 smartphones can indeed be used to watch educational videos, students cannot use them to write long assignments. 24 percent of Indians own a smartphone, according to a peer study, but only 11 percent of households own any type of computer [1].

The Digital India program provided India with the requisite drive towards digitalization, but it was not very successful. Only 24 percent of Indian [2] households have an internet facility, according to National Statistical Office reports. Nearly 66% of the population of India lives in rural areas and only slightly more than 15% of them have access to internet connectivity. In cities, only 8% households with members between 4-24 years age have computers with functional internet. The digital divide between class, gender, region, or place of residence is seen in India. There are also inter-state disparities, from 4.6 percent of people with computer and internet connectivity in Bihar to 23.5 percent in Kerala and 35 percent in Delhi. The numbers do not end here [3].

In the Indian scenario, usability and adaptability are called into question in COVID-19. It can be claimed that accessibility is non-discriminatory, physically accessible, and economically available. Education should therefore be open to everyone without prejudice, affordability, and accessible through 'new technology' if appropriate. In addition, adaptability requires the flexibility to adapt to evolving students' societal needs, such as removing long assignments. The right to education, as with all physical, social and cultural (ESC) rights, is subject to progressive realization and state accessibility. However, it seems like the government is sidelining these values while looking at its dismal situation in India. While guidelines have been issued, it has vehemently ignored the prospect of taking appropriate steps to allow students to access information that it boasts of curating for online teaching.

While the closure of educational institutions was a required step to stop the spread of COVID-19, it must be recognized that, because education is a human right, in times of crisis, the nation should take all the steps necessary to ensure its continuity. Expanding online education would drive the digital have-nots to the periphery of the education system with the current digital divide. Once again, this will demonstrate all the advantages of just the haves, which is contradictory to our spirit of democracy [4]. In order to achieve universal quality education and improve learning outcomes, technology has the potential. This can, however, be achieved only when a proper digital infrastructure exists. The first step should therefore be to build a better organized digital infrastructure that is free from any digital divide and no longer treated as a luxury [5].

Academic research has now finally been decontextualized and there has been a decline in the emphasis on truth. This will represent a fresh beginning to shift into an education system that has curricula focused on the realities of students. Not only does it make them literate, but it can also teach them by helping them achieve imagination, empathy, and resilience within themselves. The most significant lesson, however, has been that of the role of culture. If raising a child requires a household, we must motivate the household to teach the child. By embracing a more decentralized and democratic, community-based approach, the education system can be strengthened. This crisis can also serve as a Launchpad to free learning from obsolete curriculum shackles and the excessive focus on knowledge transfer.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Q. Should the trend of online mode of education continue in India after COVID-19 pandemic also?

A. The statistical data shows that it is arbitrary in nature to yet decide whether the use of technology in pursuing education is a boon or a bane but according to the conditions faced by students residing in rural areas, either the government should proved with adequate facilities as promised in the digital India scheme or shall stop this mode of learning as it plays as an hindrance towards child’s development overall.

[1] Ravi Nair, Doubtful Claim (india, 29th march, 2019) https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/article26509087.ece (10/15/2020,2:59 PM)

[2] Varun B. Krishnan, 24% of Indians have a smartphone, says Pew study (8th Feburary, 2019) https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/24-pc-of-indians-have-a-smartphone/article26212864.ece (15-10-2020,3:00 PM)

[3] Sneha Alexander, Vishnu Padmanabhan, The curious case of electrification in India amid discom blackouts (11th March 2019) https://www.livemint.com/elections/lok-sabha-elections/the-curious-case-of-electrification-in-india-amid-power-discom-blackouts-1552257301715.html (15-10-2020,3:02 PM)

[4] Key Indicators of Household Social Consumption on Education in India. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (July 2017- June 2018) http://mospi.nic.in/sites/default/files/publication_reports/KI_Education_75th_Final.pdf (10/15/2020,3:05 PM)

[5] CESCR General Comment No. 13: The Right to Education (Art. 13), Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4538838c22.pdf (15-10-2020,3:04 PM)

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