For poor students, even WhatsApp is out of bounds

TIRUCHY: During the pandemic, achieving even a bare minimum transfer of knowledge has become a challenge for poor students, said teachers. One of those students is T Kalpana, a student of Arasangudi Government Higher Secondary School. “I miss out on the lessons most of the times.

Due to lockdown, I am staying with my grandmother, as both my parents and my elder brother go for work, and I have to stay alone. My grandmother owns a petty shop that I take care of for most part of the day. Kalpana is from Keezhavellankulam village in Tiruchy. Both her parents were once day labourers and are now going for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) work. Her brother works at a welding workshop located in the city. 

Kalpana cannot access WhatsApp as her brother is the only person who owns a smartphone in the family. He gets back home only late in the night and stays till early morning. “Sometimes I do look at the messages in the group, but more often than not, I would be fast asleep by the time my brother comes home,” she explains her situation. 

Her teachers said Kalpana was one of the quick learners in the class and did well in studies before the lockdown. M Jayaraj, headmaster of Nagamangalam Government Higher Secondary School in Ariyalur said, “Such is the case seen in many places. Our teachers conducted a field study and found that less than 10 per cent of students had access to smartphones.” He added, “Only 25 have access to Kalvi TV content.” This technology gap is threatening the future of many a student.

Difficult to follow
“Sometimes, I miss out on Kalvi TV lessons as they run at their own pace, unlike in the classroom, where we can request the teacher to repeat something,” says Aarthi from Nagamangalam school