CHENNAI: Only 18% of government schools in Tamil Nadu have internet facility, according to the Unified district Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report 2020-21.The latest UDISE+ report, which was released recently by the Union Ministry of Education, reveals that 32.03 per cent of schools (government, government-aided, private, and others) in the State have internet facility on their premises. While 75.62 per cent of private schools have internet facility, government schools, with a corresponding figure of just 18 per cent, lag behind.
The figure holds significance now as digitisation in education has become the buzzword. Amid the pandemic, online education has been promoted aggressively by the government. Even in last year’s Budget, the State government announced plans to set up smart classrooms, equip schools for online education, and train teachers to handle online classes. But with such poor internet availability in government schools, these announcements would take years to become reality.
However, teachers are divided over the report. While some find it hard to rely on the figures, others say it reflects reality. On visiting four government schools in Chennai to examine the ground reality, TNIE found that only two had internet connections.
“Our students faced learning losses in the last two years because government schools didn’t have infrastructure for online classes. Teachers took class using their own mobile internet data. Hardly any primary schools in the State have internet facility,” said Tamil Nadu Teacher Association president PK Ilamaran.
Tamil Nadu Graduate Teachers’ Federation general secretary P Patrick Raymond doubts the authenticity of the figures, saying though all government schools don’t have internet, much more than 18 per cent have the facility. “Most high schools have internet facility, which we use to upload information on the Educational Management Information System (EMIS),” said Raymond.
Another interesting factor in the report is that almost 79.1 per cent of government schools in the State have functional computers on their premises. “If almost 80 per cent have computers and only 18 per cent have internet, it speaks volumes about the sorry state of affairs in government schools. What purpose are computers serving in schools without internet connections?” asked professor and child rights activist Andrew Sesuraj.
“Tamil Nadu has one of the highest literacy rates in the country. If government schools are not quickly equipped to provide online education, which is the need of the hour, our students will certainly lag behind,” said S Prabhakaran, a retired headmaster.
As per the report, neighbouring states such as Kerala and Puducherry are much ahead of Tamil Nadu, but Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are behind. In Kerala, 87.21 per cent of government schools have internet facilities, while in Puducherry, the figure is 94.79 per cent.
According to a school education department official, who wished not to be named, the figures are incorrect as over 6,000 high and higher secondary schools have internet facilities. “A lot of work is going on to provide internet access to all government schools in the State,” said an official of the school education department.