Study from home? Gujarat's 61% kids don't use online material, just 14% are regular

Janvikas activists after handing over survey report to Panchmahals officials

By Our Representative
A civil society survey of the Gujarat government’s “study from home” scheme, introduced on March 28, four days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi suddenly announced national lockdown in view of the Covid-19 crisis, has found that a whopping 61% of the children are unable to take advantage of the weekly online material, sought to be provided by the state authorities to the parents to ensure that children are not devoid of education.
At the same time, the survey, carried out in order to assess the efficacy of the scheme for standards 3 to 10, finds that just about 13.57% children are able to “regularly use” the online material, which they get on social media, especially WhatsApp. The survey involves 717 parents across seven Gujarat districts – Ahmedabad, Anand, Panchmahals, Chhotaudepur, Kutch, Sabarkantha and Aravalli. This includes Ahmedabad city and the rural areas of 13 talukas of these districts.
Among the reasons why so few children are able to use online teaching material, the survey result show that 376 parents (35.5%) do not have android phones; of the 460 parents who do have android phones, 61 (13.26%) do not use internet; 84 parents (21.6%) do not get any online material sent by the authorities; and a whopping 40.49% children do get online material but do not use it at all.

The survey further suggests that the situation is particularly bad in Ahmedabad city, where 62.5% of the parents who have android phone and are using internet do not get any online material, a direct commentary on governance on education amidst lockdown period, worse than the rural areas -- Anand 34.54%, Panchmahals 26.31%, Chhotaudepur 24.48%, Kutch 39.06%, Sabarkantha 13.63%, and Aravalli 16.66%.

Situation is particularly bad in Ahmedabad city, where 62.5% parents having android phone and internet do not get any online material

The survey finds that, of the 717 parents, while in 284 (39%) cases their children did use the online material, it was pretty irregular. Thus, in 28% of cases (79) it was used just once, in 58 cases (20.42%) it was used twice; in 44 cases (15.49%) it was used thrice; in 31 cases (10.91%) it was used four times; and only in 33 cases (11.61%) it was used five times.
A report based on the survey, which was carried out by the Ahmedabad-based NGO, Janvikas, estimates that it is possible to conclude that while there are 43.23 lakh children studying from standards three to eight in Gujarat schools, “about 26.37 lakh (61%) are deprived of the ‘study from home’ scheme.”
The report recommends that, as an alternative, efforts should be made to home deliver the study material, and online classes should be given on LED screens, attached with computers, claimed to available in all schools, to needy children, keeping in mind norms of social distancing.

Comments

Buddhist shrines massively destroyed by Brahmanical rulers in "pre-Islamic" era: Historian DN Jha's survey

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

India sees 62 journo deaths, 4th highest, amidst pandemic: Swiss media rights body

By Our Representative The Switzerland-based media rights body Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) has noted that India is the fourth most affected country as far as mediapersons’ death on account of Covid-19 is concerned. According to Blaise Lempen, secretary-general of PEC, the global tally of casualties among media persons in the Covid-19 pandemic has reached 1,036 journalists in 73 countries till date.

Liberating Bengal Hindus? Worst flames of communal division, lessons from the past

By Shamsul Islam* The whole thrust of the RSS-BJP election campaign for 2021 state assembly elections in West Bengal has been to save Bengal from the rule of Mamata Bannerjee who is allegedly not a ‘Hindu’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a self-proclaimed Hindu nationalist, as usual set the polarizing agenda. While addressing the first election rally, he called upon the electorate to overthrow the ‘nirmam’ (cruel) rule of Mamata by showing a ‘Ram Card’. He did not name Hindus directly but there was no confusion about the religious identity of the electorate Indian PM was addressing to.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Pradeep Bhattacharya, who spent his life for the cause of working masses, rational thinking

By YS Gill* At 11:30 pm on May 3, 2021, I lost my best friend and comrade Pradeep Bhattacharya. He spent his life dedicated to the cause of the working masses and rational thinking. A person of thorough scientific outlook and a well-read student of Marxian thought, he was a walking encyclopedia and could speak on a wide variety of topics from art and culture to science, philosophy, history and politics.

Rs 5 crore 'demand' for India Today anchor: What about 52 lesser souls who died in April?

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* A well known Hindutva protagonist masquerading as journalist passed away recently resulting in messages of condolences and tribute right from the Prime Minister and the Home Minister to progressive liberals expressing grief of his untimely death. It is said that he passed away due to cardiac arrest, though the fact is, he was also Covid infected. The Prime Minister and the Home Minister termed him a ‘brave’ journalist, insisting, his passing away has left a big ‘vacuum’.

Modi's Hindutva 'ensuring' empowerment of rich, disenfranchisement of poor

Bhabani Shankar Nayak* The Hindutva socio-psychopaths are neither nationalists nor patriotic people. These medieval reactionary forces don’t understand the idea of citizenship, justice, liberty, equality and humanism. Indian democracy is merely an electoral transaction for the Hindutva forces. Hindutva forces neither follow science nor understand the sufferings of fellow human beings. These core qualities are common among the Hindutva forces in India.

Communal rhetoric? Hindutva preached by RSS-BJP is 'monolithic', not Hinduism

By Prem Verma* I am a devout Hindu but not a believer of RSS Hindutva form of Hinduism which brings about hatred of other religions. My Hindu religion has not taught me to look down on other religions and neither has it instilled in me to go about converting others to my religion because my religion is superior.

India's Covid-19 'nightmare': A product of majoritarian Hindutva ideological praxis?

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* Indians struggle to find place and time to bury their dead due to the devastating effects of the second wave of Covid-19 in India. The crematoriums in the capital cities are overflowing with dead bodies. People are dying without oxygen and basic medical support. The cities like Delhi and Mumbai are struggling to cope with the rising number of infections and COVID-19 led deaths. The deaths and destitutions are products of a defunct BJP government led by Narendra Modi.

Indian media persons collapsing to Covid disease as fast as 3 per day, third highest

Yogesh Sharma, Shailesh Rawal By Our Representative The Switzerland based media rights and safety body, Press Emblem Campaign ( PEC ) has said that it is “alarming for Indian journalists”, who have lost at least 107 colleagues to Covid-19”, noting, Indian “journo-colleagues” have been collapsing to the Covid-19 complications now as fast as three scribes per day. In a statement, PEC said, “India with 107 media corona-casualties has already placed itself on the third position just below Brazil (181 dead) and Peru (140) in the list of Covid-19 victims among journalist.”

Counterview

Search This Blog