The Opposition, without resorting to the theatrics of a walk over, questioned the online education preparedness of the LDF government in the Assembly on Thursday.
General Education minister V Sivankutty said the LDF government would ensure that all students would get access to online education. Congress MLA Roji M John, who moved an adjournment motion on the difficulties faced by students in underprivileged families and remote areas, asked how he planned to achieve universal online access.
"Have we done a survey on the status of digital access among children," he asked. Roji said that a study done by Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP) last year had found that only 67 percent could effectively use digital tools to access online education.
There are areas in Kerala where there was not even a 2G connection. "How will online education be possible in such areas," Roji asked.
"How many laptops have been distributed under the government's Student Laptop project," Roji asked. He said he had information that the government had received over 1.5 lakh applications. "I am also told that over 63,000 had paid the initial installments. But till date, only 4000 laptops have been distributed," the Angamaly MLA said.
Roji also wanted to know the status of the government's own low-cost laptop, the Coconics laptop manufactured in collaboration with Keltron. Sivankutty, borrowing from a KSSP study, said that online facilities had to be arranged for 49,000 students and also admitted that no online education survey had been attempted by the government.
The minister, during his introductory remarks, had said that 2.6 lakh students in Kerala had no access to online education. Opposition leader V D Satheesan contradicted this. “I urge that you read the report of the KSSP carefully. The report says that more than 7 lakh students have been deprived of online education in Kerala,” Satheesan said. He said the most affected are students from marginalised communities; those in the coast, in high ranges, in the plantation sector and the SC/ST students.
Even when there were digital tools, the access was partial and unsatisfactory. "There are homes with just one mobile and students would have to wait till evening for their parents to return to access the only gadget the household has," Satheesan said.
The Opposition leader said it was a failure that the government had still not assessed the impact of online education in Kerala. He said teachers were unable to complete even half the syllabus. As online education progressed, nearly 40 percent of students stopped attending classes.
“I spoke to teachers and they told me that the children lost their initial excitement about online classes and logged out of education,” Satheesan said. “It will be hard for parents, especially in poor homes, to keep constant tabs on the children as they will have to go out for jobs,” he added.
Satheesan also questioned the government's logic of providing television or smartphones for organisations like cultural centres or libraries. “At a time when even tuitions have been prohibited, what is the logic of asking students to gather in a library or cultural centre,” he said and added: “Do you think children will adhere to social distancing norms in such places.”
He wanted the government to rethink the KSFE's laptop distribution scheme that provides only to institutions and not to individual houses.
