Hyderabad: The COVID-19 pandemic has bought several changes be that minor change of wearing continuous washing of hands or a bigger change like no schools. The pandemic has enforced the use of technology to those students who has to idea about the digital world and technology.
Classes have been suspended to enforce social distancing and educational institutions, from schools to universities, have shifted to online methods of teaching and evaluation. As the number of cases continues to rise, there is no certainty about when normalcy will be restored. This has encouraged some sort of a permanent tilt, if not a complete shift, to online education.
Last month, the new National Education Policy (NEP) has approved of digital and online education, although it adds a rider that the digital divide must be eliminated to fully benefit from such methods.
A number of students, who, in theory, have access to online teaching will have to depend on inconvenient methods such as using mobile phones instead of computers.
A wholesale shift to online education is not just dependent on access to devices and the internet. It is also about nuances. For instance, shifting to online methods can be far more difficult in humanities than engineering, or in government institutions than in private ones.
Three-fourths of students in India did not have access to the internet at home, according to a 2017-18 all-India NSO survey. The share of those who did not have computers, including devices such as palm-tops and tablets, was much greater–89%.
If the state has to focus on online learning, it would do well to ensure students have access to devices and internet connections. However, many states across the country are ensuring digital access and help to the online classes but not in Telangana.
The government students and teachers especially the ones in the rural parts of the state have no digital facilities and internet connections.
Speaking to a few teachers in the Adilabad and Khamam it was disclose that they ont even have a cell phone. The teachers alleged that its just three to four days for schools to start online classes as the date is stated to September 1 but until now I dot even know what to teach and how to,” said a teacher from Adilabad, who did not wanted to reveal her name.
The concept of neighborhood study also appears to very difficult in the state.