The world did not have a pandemic like the scale of COVID-19 in its memory. Spanish Flu, smallpox, cholera, and plague - were in the chronicles of our history. None of us understood the impact of a pandemic on the entire world. Globalization, while making the world flatter and bringing the associated benefits, also lay open the harmful effects - there was a free flow of humans and goods, which carried the virus from one country & one continent to another at breakneck speed. Technology has evolved very very fast over the last twenty years or so.
The world has seen the emergence of social media, artificial intelligence, smartphones, blockchain, virtual and augmented reality, etc. But the impact of a disease of the scale of COVID-19 in a world so heavily dependent on technology could be understood only in hindsight - like what we are attempting to do in this essay.
The hard hit of the pandemic escalated the use of technology. Every company, industry and institution rushed toward technology to rescue itself from being cut off. “A new survey finds that responses to COVID-19 have speeded the adoption of digital technologies by several years—and that many of these changes could be here for the long haul.” (LaBerge et al.).
On the other hand, while the adoption of technology increased, which expanded digital awareness, and brought many new users into the fold of technology, it also deepened the divide between haves and have-nots, especially concerning online education via smart devices for the already underprivileged youth.
Problems in our education sector were compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, stemming from a worsening digital divide. There were instances of the rich becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer. And the income disparity further increased the social divide between rich and poor. The shift happened from in-person learning to online learning - and the amount and quality of learning became a function of the affordability of technology. Interestingly, this problem was not limited to poor or developing countries - a study done in the USA gives evidence for the same by stating that “people privileged in their socioeconomic status, internet skills, and online experiences are more likely to increase and less likely to decrease the digital communication during the pandemic”(Nguyen et al.).
Additionally, the online learning ecosystem also created a wedge between the opportunities available for students with special needs and disabilities. “the students that are most vulnerable to the digital divide, such as students with special educational needs and/or functional diversity and those from ethnic minorities, have fewer learning opportunities, and the ones that they have are worsened by the COVID-19 situation” (Khanna and Kareem).
The findings also elicited the fact that the already underprivileged communities could further be discriminated against and become socially diminished. (Sosa Díaz). The private institutions which were already technologically developed to some extent, had the necessary resources as well as the monetary backing and could adapt to the new conditions whereas the Government/aided schools couldn’t deal with the transition to online education efficiently due to the inadequacy of the required technological resources under the said circumstances. In rural areas, this was even more laborious due to the lack of accessibility and affordability of proper network connectivity, smart devices, and poor basic infrastructure like the round-the-clock supply of electricity. Students in rural areas are generally unable to procure smart devices like laptops and smartphones due to the low economic conditions and the reluctance from their parents. The only possible device - a low-level smartphone - was not adequate for the online education of more than one kid at home, and was possibly also the bread-earning device of the family. The ‘father’ would carry the phone to work. Hence, the issues faced by the Indian education system became multifold.
Two surveys- Annual Status Of Education Report (ASER) and School Children’s Online and Offline Learning (SCHOOL)- conducted by ‘The Hindu Data Team’ in rural Karnataka and other Union Territories show that “Only 28% of rural children studied regularly while 37% didn't study at all. Of those who were able to study, only 8% regularly attended online classes or learned through videos. In urban areas, the share of students who studied regularly was slightly better at 47% (though only 25% could study through online classes) while 19% of them did not study at all.” Consequently, the total percentage of educated students who could read and write as well as perform basic calculations reduced significantly. Additionally, several students lost two years of schooling with no actual learning. This could harm the quality of their education in the coming years
Apart from the issue of a lack of a digital device to attend online classes, another key problem was the availability of online course materials. There was no ready ‘soft’ material, no mechanism to do cloud-based access, no evaluation process, and no method of giving assignments and submitting them. The sector was just caught off-guard, with no readiness to combat the situation whatsoever.
On the other hand, private education prospered due to their ability and the right mediums to adapt to the needed changes. Apart from regular online classes via smart devices, with access to high-speed broadband, in the comforts of protected environments, such students had the chance to do various certification courses, training and skill-based workshops which helped in their overall development and upbringing. On the contrary, government schools with limited resources suffered and could not adopt the new way of learning.
Like many other aspects of our society, many things in education and learning have changed permanently. Online workshops, internships, webinars, certification courses, workshops, and training, have become the norm or are preferred. But taking a macro view, the underprivileged are back to schools and have returned to the ‘old school’ of learning.
Are they ready for another impactful change? Will they again lose years with another unfortunate event like COVID-19?
It is of vital importance for our country to provide digital means of learning to all irrespective of their strata in society. Looking back at the basic problems that we analyzed, which were the lack of adequate devices, less access to adequate network and bandwidth, shortage of basics like 24/7 electricity, and the lack of a proper study environment at home, it is critical to provide such children with a means to continue their education instead of losing their critical education years.
The government and the private sector now can provide low-cost devices - these could be either smartphones or low-configuration laptops or desktops- through funding, providing subsidies and Non-Government organisations working along with the government. The New Education Policy also aims at improving the quality of education provided to students by integrating technology and digitizing the sector (India TV News Desk). With the emergence of 5G and network fibre laid all across the country, the problem of poor network connectivity soon has a solution coming up. The government can encourage the use of non-conventional resources - like solar power, wind energy, etc. for these devices. The private sector- various corporations- can provide technological access to children through CSR funding, donating devices and bandwidth, etc. It is also equally important to provide awareness to the parents so that they can make an extra effort to provide a better study environment at home for the child so that there is scope for holistic development.
Covid-19 has been a life-changing experience for most people- mainly affecting them negatively. This in turn has had a huge impact on education and has set back the essential learning of students by years. In this new digital age and technological advancements, those already equipped with such advantages did not have to face the break in education, unlike some others. It is crucial for us, as a society, to prepare ourselves for a similar disruption again soon, especially when it comes to education. We need to come up with ways to provide devices, bandwidth, connectivity as well as the needed environment for the needy for them to be able to have equal opportunities to grow and develop.
Bridging the gap between the digital divide in India is imperative for equitable growth in the country. By doing this, we could be one step closer to cutting down on the distance between the privileged and the ones who lack such privileges.
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