Around 20% of students in state and state-sponsored schools in Karnataka do not have access to electronic devices or television for online education, the state government told the Karnataka Supreme Court on Tuesday.

The report was presented by the government when it was hearing a petition about online education. In discussions about the preparations for restarting online lessons, the state government informed the HC about the lack of digital access to the students.

A department bank of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Hanchate Sanjeev Kumar expressed concern about this filing, saying that those students who are not attending class (due to lack of access to technology) are a cause for concern. Since this percentage of children who are unavailable due to the lack of technology is virtually conveyed during this ongoing pandemic, there is a risk that children will become involved in child labor or begging, or rather such activities that are completely ineffective against the interests of such children " said the bank.

The bank added that if girls are among those who do not have access to technology, chances are they could get married off, especially in rural areas, as they are out of school.

The bank reminded the government that it is a fundamental right of the government to provide students with access to education. "In order to emphasize the purpose of Article 21A, education is to be provided to children up to the age of 14 as their fundamental right and the state is obliged to provide access to education through technology in the absence of school openings due to the pandemic. If such steps are not taken by the state for these children, it would be a failure of the state to guarantee the fundamental rights of these children under Article 21-A of the Constitution, as well as the child's right to education, "the court stated.

Senior advocate Harish Narasappa, who appeared for petitioner Sanjeev Narrain, argued that although state government data shows that around 20% of students do not have access, the number could be much higher.

"I am attaching to my petition the report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NSO) of the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation from 2018, which states that in Karnataka only a grim 2% of households have access to a computer and only 8.3% for rural households. of households have access to internet facilities. Of urban households, only 22.9% of households have access to a computer and 33.5% of households have access to internet facilities, "Narasappa said.

The bank then asked the state to collect data on device availability from children. The bank asked for the survey to be completed by July 5th and the report to be submitted to HC on July 8th.

"Lack of education or dropout is a serious problem, not just for parents, the state and society, but for the child themselves. A child can feel left out or left behind when technology is not made available to him or her Days of a pandemic while other children with access to technology would benefit from virtual teaching by teachers. Such discrimination against children is unacceptable and so the state must take concrete steps and strive to ensure that all children have access to technology … "said the bank.

source https://seapointrealtors.com/2021/07/25/govt-responsible-for-getting-gadgets-for-students-during-pandemichc-tells-state-education/

 This free site is ad-supported. Learn more
​