By: Yajunshi Tyagi, a final-year student at the National Law Institute University, Bhopal
“Technology cannot replace great teachers but technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational” – George Couros
The Covid-19 pandemic brought India along with the entire world to a complete standstill at the beginning of this year. Since the gradual lifting of the restrictions, the nation has been trying to cope up with the repercussions of the lockdown. However, the youth of the nation, especially school going students, is facing a rather significant setback due to the pandemic. Many students are struggling to cope up with the syllabus in the absence of teachers due to the sudden shift to online modes of teaching. The pandemic has compelled students to rely completely on technology for e-learning and has eliminated the scope of in-person traditional classroom sessions. In the quest of overcoming these challenges, the main aim is to bring teachers and students together by the means of technology.
The issues of inequities in access to technology across the nation have added to the complications caused by the Covid-19 crisis. According to the 2019 TRAI data, the internet teledensity in rural India is 57.18 per 100 inhabitants against 156.18 in urban regions. This clearly puts rural India on a backseat in terms of access to technology and resources for facilitating e-learning, which can have a lingering effect on the education of the students living in the rural parts of the country. Therefore, it becomes all the more important to identify the core issues faced by these students and to navigate through the possible solutions.
Digital divide
Owing to the pandemic, the discrimination faced by the marginalized communities of our society due to a digital divide has come to light. The poorest of households do not have access to internet connectivity or smartphones. Another relevant issue is the unavailability of educational material online in vernacular languages which are more prominently used by the students in rural areas. For a very long time, various governments have been trying to focus on supplementing teaching with digitization. However, the coronavirus crisis has brought to light the failure of the government policies to extend the benefits to everyone and has widened this technological gap. The extent of this digital divide can be emphasized by noting the 2017-18 report by National Statistics Survey, which states that less than 5% of rural Indian households have internet access as opposed to 42% urban Indian households. The reason behind this overwhelming disparity is that rural areas are more vulnerable to economic, educational, social, and cultural inequalities. Hence, it can be safely concluded that rural households are in a dire need of access to technology as they have been deprived of various incentives such as affordable internet, digital literacy programs, etc. The long-standing problem of the digital divide has proved to be one of the main barriers in endorsing e-learning in rural India. Therefore, as the nation aims to take over the world’s most advanced economies in the coming years, it becomes even more important to bridge the digital divide.
Over reliance on parents due to the absence of the ‘human element’
The importance of the ‘human element’ cannot be ruled out while relying on remote learning. In a lockdown free India, the government envisioned introducing e-learning resources to aid teachers and parents in teaching effectively, considering a complete dependence on technology for learning is rather unprecedented. The dependence of students on their parents is increasing as they are not familiar with the current conditions as opposed to classroom teaching. As a matter of fact, parents are helping their children in almost everything ranging from accessing the resources to the lessons being taught by the teachers. The main challenge posed to this setting is the inability of parents to assist their children in the learning process. The 2017-18 NSSO survey noted that approximately 45% of India’s population (above 15 years of age) is either illiterate or has just attended primary education. On the other hand, the rural Indian population accounts for 70% of this section of society. The lack of education and unfamiliarity with technology for parents in rural India prevents them from managing their child’s learning process at home. This poses a risk for such students of falling behind academically among their peers across the country.
Lack of infrastructure to support e-learning
The lack of infrastructure to support online modes of teaching adds to the limitations that our education system faces during Covid-19 lockdowns. E-learning means teaching with electronic resources and therefore, the process is dependent on the accessibility of technology. However, the inadequate availability of electricity to support these resources is one of the most prominent impediments for those relying on e-learning. The Ministry of Rural Development, in its 2017-18 survey, reported that more than 36% of schools in India operate without electricity. The problems related to the unsatisfactory power supply and ineffective internet connectivity further highlight how the education of students from economically challenged backgrounds is more likely to suffer. The complete reliance on e-learning is the need of the hour but despite that, it seems to be a distant dream for the students to gain access to the necessary resources.
The government must keep in mind both the short-term and long-term effectiveness of the solutions being adopted. Some of the measures that can be taken by the government during the pandemic to overcome the obstacles faced by rural India are discussed below.
Exploring technology to ensure wider reach
Students studying in rural or secluded areas of the country do not have access to internet connectivity, smartphones, or computers. Despite the consistent efforts of the government to promote hyper-digitization, the reach of the same has been limited to the privileged sections of our society. To widen the reach of technology in the short run and help students learn during the pandemic, it is necessary to bring education to their homes in the easiest ways possible. It is surprising to see that even today the penetration of technology like radio, audio calls, SMSs, and Interactive Voice Response Systems (IVRS) is higher than internet-backed mechanisms in rural India. These channels should be heavily promoted to impart education as many students prefer availing of these resources due to their easy and economical access. For example, the students just need to give a missed call to get pre-recorded lessons on their phones by using IVR technology. Additionally, multiple channels of communication could be used by teachers. One medium of technology might not be viable for every student. There is a need for being creative to figure out multiple or hybrid channels of communication for teaching purposes. This flexibility would help increase the effectiveness of the e-learning process and will ensure a greater reach.
Focus on content creation
After discussing a solution to the unavailability of resources, it is pertinent to note that the knowledge to access those resources is of equal importance. The goal must be to ensure that the students do not get discouraged by their ineptness. Furthermore, the material must be delivered to them using the technology that they are familiar with. It is equally essential to create content that is easy to comprehend. Lastly, creative and concerted efforts must be made by educators to create content that can explain difficult and novel concepts comprehensively.
Using innovative methods to stimulate efficient learning
The majority of the students are relying heavily on their parents for educational purposes during the pandemic. The focus should be to adopt those methods of distance education that can bring these students as close to regular classroom teaching as possible. Hence, the teachers must keep the parents in the loop. It can be done by taking feedback from parents along with the students. The disadvantages of distance learning can be countered by checking up on the students regarding the accessibility of material, understanding their problems, getting their feedback, and making follow-up calls to their parents. The teachers should regularly discuss ways for improving the content and teaching methods to adapt to all the changes. This inclusion of a ‘human element’ will help to enable the smooth and coherent functioning of the e-learning methodologies.
In conclusion, it is necessary to highlight that our education system is at risk of bearing long term losses like that of reduction in human resources and decreasing economic opportunities. India has more than 250 million students in around 1.5 million schools, out of which mainly the students in rural India have been adversely affected by the Covid-19 restrictions. Keeping in mind the current crisis, our country needs to leave no stone unturned for ensuring proper access to technology to tackle the shortcomings of distance education in rural households. This way the students of rural India can be given a chance to be on an equal footing with other students. The policies of the government must explore all possible avenues to foster equitable, affordable, and good quality resources to facilitate e-learning for school going children in every nook and corner of the nation.
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