CHENNAI: Kokila’s parents are scrambling to feed the family since the lockdown began. Working as daily wage labourers, they lost their ration card a few months back. Kokila is trying her best not to let these hurdles come in her way. “I cannot be distracted by such issues. I have to prepare for my Class-X exams,” she says before heading to her ‘study room’, a tiny shed on the terrace of her home.
In the Indian education system — where the disparity between private and public schools is stark — a common examination has hitherto been an uneven playing field. The pandemic has only magnified this division. While private school students have the luxury of online classes, digital tuition, educational apps, and well-informed parents working from home, the less-fortunate kids only have their textbooks and relief materials given by the government or charities.
Many of these kids are worried about clearing the exams without help from teachers. It has been over a month since they last went to school, and will take about two more months before they can write their public exams. Kokila’s family lives near the Kodungaiyur dumpyard. Her father extracts scrap metals from waste that piles up at the dumpyard. Her mother works at a plastic segregation unit.
“It’s been a month since my parents worked. We are dependant on our relatives for food now,” says Kokila. Without a ration card, the family neither got the relief kit nor the Rs 1,000 dole. Often, it’s hunger that disrupts her exam preparation. Kokila, and many more like her, are hoping against hope that the government would give them two weeks time for revision with their teachers before writing the exam.
Another such student is Revathi*, who was staying in a night shelter in North Chennai until the lockdown. Now, Revathi stays with her uncle and aunt. “My uncle told me the Class-10 exams would be cancelled. He said he saw it in the news. So I spent most of my time helping out my aunt with her household chores. I haven’t begun my preparations yet,” says Revathi.
K Chitra* says her landlord has threatened to evict her family from their home. Her husband, a painter, has found no work since the lockdown began, and has no money left to pay rent. “My daughter is preparing for her Class-10 exams now. At this time if the landlord throws us out... we do not know what we can do!”
Logesh Kumar, who studies in a government school, says studying during the lockdown is near to impossible. “My parents are constantly listening to news about the virus,” says Logesh, who lives in a one-room house. “Where do I go to study? How do I do it right under the TV?” Logesh’s father, an auto driver, is also struggling to feed his family.
If this is the situation in Chennai then the distress of rural students must be much worse, says Krishna B, a corporation school teacher. “What is more important is to ensure these children and their families are receiving enough food and rations. We need to check that before checking if they have prepared.”
The public schools are doing their best to cope with the situation. They may not be able to afford online classes, but are exploring other avenues. “I have assigned one teacher for a group of 30-35 students. They have to keep a tab on them and contact their parents over phone on a regular basis,”says R Andal, headmistress of the MMDA-2 Corporation High School.
“Online classes will not work with our schools’ students as not all of them will have smartphones at their disposal,” a senior corporation official told Express. Sources say the government has asked DD Podhigai, Kalvi TV, and Polimer to broadcast lessons and preparation materials.
“We will take a decision after the lockdown is lifted, after consultations with the chief minister,” said a senior official in the School Education department. “We will definitely give a week to 10 days notice before the exams,” the official said. The government teachers association has said it’s more than willing to help out students. “All of us are going through traumatic times, and the kids may not remember what was taught in school because of this. We are willing to conduct two weeks of revision classes before the exam,” says PK Ilamaran, leader of the TN government teachers association.
(Names changed to protect identity)