SC seeks responses from Centre and states on post-Covid school education

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday sought responses from the Union and state governments on a PIL seeking a shift in the education policy to focus on digitally empowering students, especially those in the 6-14 year category and from socially and economically backward classes, to ensure they had access to high-speed internet devices for learning through online classes.
A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde issued notice on a PIL filed by NGO 'Good Governance Chambers', which through advocate Deepak Prakash said during the pandemic, the fundamental right to education of students from economically and socially deprived sections, especially from migrant worker families, was violated as most of them could not join online classes. It said in India, only 45 crore of the 135 crore population had access to the internet.
"Steps taken by the governments to regulate elementary education during the pandemic are not only grossly inadequate but are also creating inequality to put children from weaker sections of society under a perpetually disadvantaged position," the petition said.
"Although some governments are organising programmes to continue imparting education to students through smartphones and televisions, lack of digitisation in India, and unavailability of digital devices and gadgets, pose a serious challenge for majority of students to receive the intended education, more so when the majority of children come from economically and socially weaker sections of society," it added.
However, the NGO said no hurried step should be taken by governments to reopen schools as young students would not be able to observe social distancing. "There is an urgent need for governments to cautiously frame a policy prescribing uniform timelines for opening of schools and protective measures to be followed by school authorities," it said.