Online learning platforms have seen a boom in their business during the pandemic season. Many parents decided to educate their children via Online education instead of sending them to school. Children with tabs, I pads, mobiles, and computers found it very accessible and time-saving to attend classes online. In fact, even after the schools reopened post-pandemic for physical classes, many parents opted for online classes, due to their convenience and safety from disease spreading.
While this was the case for some families from middle-class, and upper-middle-class, there were lakhs of children, who could not afford a decent mobile or Internet to receive Homework from their teachers via WhatsApp. Our need has grown from mere Food, Clothing, and shelter, to Food clothing, shelter, Internet, and Mobile. They say, In India, every man, despite their social and economic background has a phone but is it accessible to their children, so that they can attend classes or even receive messages via WhatsApp? Not at all.
Imagine a scene, Father is a daily wage laborer who possesses a phone with him, He is out at work every day at 8 AM, while the Mother is a house help with no phone, since the family can afford only one Mobile phone. Now his Children studying in 10th Standard and 6th Standard, have no access to a phone until their father comes back from work. In many cases, the father comes back drunk and is in no mental state to understand why the children need a phone, so there goes their daily reading and learning. This is a real example of a child in rural Bangalore.
The lockdown of schools and colleges has created a major setback to the education of the poor and underprivileged. We must have heard stories of mothers who have sold their mangal sutra to procure a mobile for their child, so he/she can attend some classes. These were real problems of real people, today the Lockdowns are gone, but a huge gap in education is created. Schools in Rural areas are in need of smart education solutions to bridge the gap, classes when conducted with the help of Digital equipment such as projectors, Smart TVs, and Laptops will be more engaging to a student and help them to learn a wide arrey of topics with greater involvement and enthusiasm.
The Waymaker Initiative has helped schools to establish computer labs and provided Laptops, as digital educational aids. There are many more schools that are in need of such digital equipment and we welcome you to come forward and lend a helping hand.
Author: Vibha is an advocate by profession and a teacher by heart. She is the co founder of Legal Chap, a law-firm based in Bengaluru. She has been an active catalyst in the empowerment of children and women by advocating for their safety. She has led elaborate and interactive workshops and serves on the executive teams of non-profit organizations that promote child welfare and legal awareness.
