BHUBANESWAR: For Odisha, where close to 62 lakh children study in government schools, online teaching during lockdown could have been its story of opportunity in the face of adversity.In urban centres, where English medium schools abound, online education has found its calling despite teething problems. Schools with strong infrastructure and technology back-up have been able to innovate and teach students amidst a global health crisis. What has helped is strong infrastructure for mobile and internet connectivity as well as access to gadgets.
However, reality bites when it comes to rural areas where government schools are at the core of education system. Can large areas with low access to internet, computers and even smartphones keep pace with online education? With lakhs of children having no access to computer or internet, achieving desired results of a hybrid learning process appears far-fetched.In rural parts of Jagatsinghpur district, most guardians claim they have no Android phone to avail study for their wards through WhatsApp groups. Let alone smartphones, many have no money to recharge SIM card data packs.
Kelucharan Swain from Pokhariapada under Erasama block is a BPL card holder and has no landed property. Maintaining a family of six during the lockdown is a tough ask. Expecting him to support studies for his two children using smartphones is almost cruel. “Student strength of Raghunathpur UP School is 288 while 50 per cent have no Android phones which is why they are deprived of online education,” says teachers’ association leader Nirmalendu Shome.
That pretty much sums up the story of online education in government schools of the State. At the heart of the problem lay lack of tele infrastructure - in terms of quantity and quality at grassroots - for implementation of education on virtual platform.Let’s look at basic facts. The Economic Survey 2018-19 says that out of a total 51,311 villages, about 11,000 villages (more than 20 per cent) in the State do not have mobile connectivity. As per the report, tele-density - number of telephone connections for every 100 individuals living in an area - is far lower than the national average. In March 2018, State’s tele-density of 79.58 was well below the national average of 91.09.
Similarly, wireless tele-density in State’s urban areas remains at 160.8 per 100 persons but in rural areas, it plunges to 61.6. The total number of tele-subscribers in Odisha was 34.62 million in 2018 March.Besides, the number of internet users in the State is equally poor. Odisha has just 28.22 internet subscribers for a population of 100, compared to the national average of 38.02. Total number of internet subscribers in the State is 12.18 million, including the 5.67 million users in rural areas, the report states.
When it comes to internet access, for every 100 people in rural Odisha, just 16 have reach where as it is 83.3 in urban pockets. Interestingly, between 2017 and 2018, the total volume of wireless data used in Odisha jumped 138 pc from 474 million GB to 1,134 million GB. Still rural pockets remain way behind in its reach to data.
Since access to phone, tabs, computer and internet are an integral part of digital education, statistics are certainly not in favour of Odisha students. The State is at the bottom when it comes to use of computer and internet, reveals National Sample Survey (NSS) report on education 2017-18. As per the report, only 4.3 pc households in Odisha have computers while 10 pc households have internet facility. Only 17.2 pc households in urban areas possess computers while 31.2 per cent households have internet connection.
In rural Odisha, the numbers are woefully short. Just 1.8 per cent households have computers at home, while 5.8 per cent households have internet facility. How can students manage online education in such circumstances?Computer literacy rate of the state is equally discouraging. Only 25.5 per cent people have ability to operate computer in urban Odisha, whereas 13.4 per cent in rural Odisha have ability to operate computers.
Moreover, only 7.4 per cent individuals, above five years age, in rural areas and 29.3 per cent individuals in urban areas have the ability to use internet.Issues like power cut during summer, financial constraints of households and lack of involvement of parents in the process are the other factors on which the State would require to work for successful implementation of virtual education and remote learning. State Project Director of Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA) Bhupendra Singh Poonia agrees there are hurdles in reaching out to students online but feels it is the right time to encourage such learning to get a picture of how many students at grassroots don’t have access to online education and plan for future.
“We have adopted a strategy in which WhatsApp groups have been formed at different levels where apart from sharing learning materials, feedback is collected from students, teachers and field level officials to expand the reach,” Poonia said.So far, OSEPA has found that districts like Khurda, Cuttack and a few other districts are doing well as students in government schools have better access to online platforms in these districts.