Local Innovations Bridge Education's Digital Divide

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Ankit Vyas, Programme Coordinator, Inequality and Education, Oxfam India In March this year, 270 million Indian children were forced to stop going to school because of the pandemic. The sudden move into distance mode has offered insights into the opportunities and limitations of digital modes of instruction. Despite announcements by state governments of continuing to deliver classes during the lockdown through TV and online, over 80% of parents in government schools were concerned that education had not been delivered. The situation was not much better in private schools, with 60% reporting that education delivery was interrupted in the same period. While children face issues in accessing education digitally, teachers face their own set of issues in delivering it. A staggering 84% of teachers reported difficulties, and two out of every five lacked the necessary devices. WhatsApp dominant mode of delivery The preferred mode of education delivery was WhatsApp, which was used in 75% and 57% of government and private schools, respectively. Only a fifth of the children in private schools reported attending online classes, with the vast majority simply receiving instructions via WhatsApp, YouTube and phone calls. In government schools, no one attended online classes. So, what Is Being Done? While the situation appears bleak, local, tech-free innovations have been successfully helping children access education during the prolonged school closure, and offer cause for hope. Chhattisgarh, a state in Central India, has begun Mohalla (neighbourhood) classes in areas with low infection rates. Mini classrooms, with small groups of students, have been set up in community spaces. The teacher spends a couple of hours in each room, engaging with all students at least twice a week. The use of Mohalla classes has been listed as a best practice by India’s Ministry of Education in its report on education during COVID-19. A survey revealed that 68% of parents needed textbooks to facilitate classes. In response, in the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, teachers prepared workbooks for students containing additional learning materials and solved examples to guide students. They were delivered to students’ homes by the administration, facilitating learning for the vast majority of those who did not have access to avenues for digital education. Another innovative approach was implemented by a Head and teachers in Dumarthar, a remote tribal village in Jharkhand. With paltry access to digital devices, they came up with the idea of converting the village into an open classroom, converting walls of mud-baked houses into individual blackboards for every student, whilst maintaining physical distancing. The teachers move around the village, helping students solve problems on their blackboard. While some good examples of the use of technology for education have emerged, school education as a whole is not ready to move online — not in India nor globally speaking. Pushing everyone online while knowing that doing so excludes the most marginalised children puts the education of a generation at risk.