DIGITAL EDUCATION: STILL A DISTANT DREAM FOR MANY?

 

The Coronavirus pandemic has severely affected the traditional brick and mortar education in schools and colleges across the globe. India is no exception. It has led to an exponential growth of digital education throughout the country. Everywhere, the teachers are recording their lectures and uploading of social media platforms like YouTube and sharing links on WhatsApp groups or teaching via various mobile applications.

However, are Indians parents equipped with proper infrastructure to facilitate digital education for their children? Or will the students from rural and urban India gain equal access to online education?  The students in metropolitan cities clearly have an advantage of better infrastructure and long conducive learning hours for online education. The parents are in a better position to facilitate their children with digital learning mediums.

But in rural India, the digital education remains a distant dream for many. Recently, the CHILDLINE 1098 team in Haryana, Mewat district rescued a child working on a construction site. Upon counseling the child revealed that his school is conducting classes online, to which neither he nor anyone in his family owns a smartphone.  In order to buy a smartphone and study better in the future the child was working at the construction site. The child was presented before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) who handed over the child to his parents after the due diligence process. After few weeks, CHILDLINE visited the child’s place. The child, a student of 8^th Std., was at home and studying. This case is a true reflection of the ground reality of the digital education in India.

On further discussion with principals of Govt. and private schools regarding online classes, it was revealed that, in Govt. schools, teachers have formed WhatsApp groups to provide online education to students. However, it has been observed that only a handful of students have benefitted from this education opportunity. Nearly, 70 percent of the students are unable to access online education. In private schools only 50 percent of the children are able to access online education. This is mainly due to the lack of infrastructure or internet connectivity.

In some cases, only one parent has a smartphone which they take to work and children have to wait till that parent returns home. In households with only one smartphone, gender disparity is hugely prevalent. The male child is given priority over the female child to access the smartphone. The stakeholders from the education department are trying to provide education to all the children during the lockdown however due to lack of infrastructure; many children are unable to access the learning mediums.

The local Sarpanchs and village heads can play a great role in facilitating digital education for children. They can help set up proper Wi-Fi system and help children with smartphones or computers in the common spaces for children. Organizations like CHILDLINE 1098 can work as a catalyst and help identify resource organizations to facilitate digital education so that no child will have to engage in child labour for online education.

Kid Glove 2019: An initiative to protect children from cybercrimes

Technology is all-pervasive across age groups today. Given the many dangers that lurk online, children are especially vulnerable to becoming victims of cybercrime. In an effort to create awareness on cybersecurity and sensitise children, parents and teachers, the Kerala Police Cyberdome organised “Kid Glove 2019” in association with CHILDLINE, Bodhini and Allianz Technology. Launched in 2015, Kid Glove is an initiative by Cyberdome, the technological research and development centre of the Kerala State Police, to create awareness and build capacity to counter and tackle the threats of cyberspace.

Dignitaries at the event. Pic: Cyberdome

The event was held at Nirmala Bhavan School, Trivandrum on October 11th 2019, and saw enthusiastic participation from over 450 students from across 35 schools. It was inaugurated by Loknath Behara IPS - DGP, State Police Chief, in the presence of Manoj Abraham IPS  - ADGP HQ, Nodal Officer Cyberdome, Jeevan Babu K IAS - Director of General Education, Dr.Achuth Sankar S Nair - HOD Dept of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Kerala University, Dr. Sr. Mercy Kunnathulurayidam - Principal Nirmala Bhavan and Raji Gouda - Allianz Technology.

Kid Glove 2019 sought to equip students with the knowledge to traverse the World Wide Web effectively while ensuring that they were taking the necessary steps to safeguard themselves. The event included an exhibition, and workshops and awareness sessions on themes such as protecting online privacy, responding to online bullies, basic cybersecurity measures that could be taken and more. A life-size version of Snakes and Ladders took the children through the dos and don'ts of using the web; the longest snake on the board, for instance, denoted the risk they were taking when they posted pictures online.

As part of the awareness sessions, the CHILDLINE team organised a talk on the topic, “Atrocities against Children and CHILDLINE’s Role in Helping Victims”, which was attended by 300 students.

A CHILDLINE counsellor talks to the children about sexual abuse. Pic: Cyberdome

A kiosk which had posters with information on the 1098 services was set up in the exhibition area. Awareness videos were also streamed from the kiosk for the entire duration of the programme. Every child who visited was also handed a brochure with details on how, when and why they could call CHILDLINE.

Children at the CHILDLINE kiosk. Pic: CHILDLINE Trivandrum

To showcase what happened a 1098 call was made, children could also call the helpline from a phone that was installed at the kiosk. 

Children dial the 1098 helpline. Pic: CHILDLINE Trivandrum

Considering the dependence on technology in today’s world, it is very critical to equip children with the knowledge they need to protect themselves from the various transgressions they can encounter. An initiative like Kid Glove can go a long way in informing children and building their capacity in effectively mitigating and countering threats or risks they could face online.