New Delhi/ Mumbai: The digital divide stretches long and deep across the expanse of India, further separating the haves from the have-nots and the tech-empowered from the tech-deprived with millions of children struggling to keep up with the challenges of online classes.
The Coronavirus pandemic that forced people into their homes and forced schools and colleges to move to virtual classes has edged education dreams with conditions aplenty a computer or at least a smartphone, proper internet connectivity and uninterrupted power supply.
The education playing field, never really level, is now potholed and bumpy as students, and their teachers, in cities, towns and villages scramble to cope with the demands of the times.
Children in a small settlement in the floodplains of the Yamuna along the Delhi-Noida border, for instance, have never had it easy. They would cross the river in a boat to reach school, just minutes away from the bright lights of the national capital and its suburb.
Four months ago, when India went into lockdown, their odds increased manifold.
Joshna Kumar, 12, has a phone but often no electricity so it is difficult to attend her online classes everyday.
Most residents of the settlement rely on Charan Singh, a cattle rearer who visits daily, to charge their phones. And so does she.
Every evening I give my phone for charging. He brings it charged next morning, she said, sitting on a charpoy in the backyard of her home, quickly scrolling through her Whatsapp messages to take down notes and finish her homework. To save battery, Joshna keeps the brightness of her phone low.
Her 10-year-old brother studying in the same school mostly stays away from class. When he does attend, Joshna has to miss school and catch up through pre-recorded videos. Their father is a daily wage worker and another phone cannot happen for them.
Her story finds echo in Faridabad, Haryana, where Suchi Singh, a Class 8 student, said there is only smartphone between her three siblings and her. So, the four take turns in attending class.
That Suchi, a topper, is forced to miss class troubles her father Rajesh Kumar, a newspaper vendor, but he said he has no option. A smartphone is a luxury when he is struggling to provide for his family.
E-classes have made life difficult, he said, pessimistic about what the future holds for him and his children.
Hundreds of kilometres away in Mumbai's Aarey Colony, JyotiRandhe, a Class 10 student in a municipal school, shares a smartphone with her mother who takes it to work. Her classmate RoshniNere has to divide her phone time with two sisters who also take e-classes.
Roshni's mother said she is worried about her future and appeals to authorities to at least equip them with the required technology.
Some students don't have that option either.
Like SumitWadakar, who studies in the same school and whose father LaxmanWadakar works as a security guard in Mumbai's Film City. He said candidly his salary is not enough to buy a smartphone.
The numbers tell the story of e-education deepening the rift.