Online classes out of reach for many students

Those from economically weaker sections are struggling to get enough access to digital classrooms as their parents do not have the resources to provide the tools

Class X student Ankita Mhaske and her younger brother Aniket Mhaske, who is in class IX, have been helping each other while studying on their own since the lockdown began as they do not have a laptop or even a smartphone to attend online classes.

When the government asked schools to go for online lectures to deal with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic it seems it did not think of students like Ankita, Aniket and several others who cannot afford the electronic gadgets required to attend online classes.

Parents of these children are worried thinking that their children might lag behind in studies as they do not have an access to online education and they cannot get guidance from teachers as schools have not yet opened.

Prahlad Mhaske, a 43-year-old resident of Balaji Nagar and father of Ankita and Aniket, sells vegetables on a handcart. His earnings are barely adequate to look after the family and not enough to buy a smartphone for his children’s online education needs.

“I want my children to study hard and achieve something in their lives. I do not want them to face the hardship that I am facing now. However, in this online education scenario, I am seeing them lag behind as they are not able to attend even a single lecture due to the lack of a smartphone,” Prahlad, whose children are studying in Dhankawadi-based Prerana School, told Mirror.


In order to curb the number of cases of COVID-19, the state government has decided to not open schools and colleges. To ensure that the students are not losing on studies, most of the schools have started online classes for the students. However, there are some students from economically weaker sections whose parents cannot afford to invest in the electronic gadgets for them to attend the online classes.

Prem Waghmode, a class X student of Shivaji High School in Ambegaon Budruk, is one such teenager. Speaking to Mirror, he said, “My father is a painter and he cannot afford to buy me a smartphone. I am in class X and despite this being an important year, I am not able to get any guidance from teachers either online or in person. I am left with no option but to rely on self-studies.”

While these families cannot afford any gadget, there are parents with two or more children and all of them are now sitting at home and studying on their own. Ashwini Kadam is a resident of Hanuman Nagar whose husband has passed away and she works as a domestic help to look after her three children. All of them are in school but she cannot provide them access to online classes. Kadam said, “During this pandemic, I am not getting enough work to earn to run my family so how can I buy my three children a smartphone each for their education. My eldest son is now in class XI and is teaching his two sib-lings who are in XI and VI.”

Some schools have asked the teachers to be present in schools so that the children with no access to online classes can visit them for guidance. Shivaji Shinde, principal of Shivaji High School, said, “I have instructed schoolteachers that two of them should be present in the school for at least two hours so that the children can meet them in person to clear their doubts. However, there are some areas which are containment zones from where children cannot come to school and therefore, we are looking for other options to reach out to them.”

Some school authorities are in a process of writing letters to the government authorities to attract their attention to this issue.

Prerana Patwardhan, trustee of Prerana Vanita Mandal, which runs a school in Dhankawadi, told Mirror, “I am feeling extremely sorry for such students whose parents are not able to afford electronic gadgets to give them access to online classes. While some students will go ahead with their syllabus, such children will definitely lag behind and in the long run, it will create a social divide. I am writing a letter to the Chief Minister, requesting him to have a serious thought over this issue of online classes which is creating social discrimination.”

When contacted, district collector Naval Kishore Ram said, “I will hold a meeting with senior officials of the education department and will ask them to work on finding a solution on the issue.”