Frequent power outages in the name of repairs at local level have been disrupting online classes of students in Kozhikode city and its suburbs.
Students at various educational levels in schools and colleges often go through a harrowing experience during online class hours owing to the disruption in electricity supply. “Sometimes we miss an important period for no fault of ours. And teachers scold us for being absent. They also warn us of deducting internal marks,” said M. Rohan, a class IX student.
Often, students complain about missing their entire online classes from morning till noon or at times till evening. “Sometimes, we receive SMS notification that power would be disrupted between specified timings to take up installation of a transformer or pruning branches of trees or LT (Low Tension) and HT (High Tension) maintenance. So our whole day is wasted,” Akhil, who is a class X student, said. Most families have been relying on Wi-Fi or even high-speed broadband fibre or Fibre To The Home (FTTH) services for various reasons including poor mobile data connection. “In the worst scenario, parents allow their children to use Wi-Fi tethering through their mobile phones. But for that too, the connection might appear slow. Now we have to use Wi-Fi dongle for better speed and connectivity,” Russell Lazim, an engineering student, said.
Families also have no option but to buy Router UPS that provides uninterrupted internet service lasting for a few hours in case of a power outage. “But the cost of this power backup ranges from ₹2,000 to ₹3,000. Or else we have to install a good power inverter at the asking price above ₹20,000,” Lissy, a parent, said.
Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) officials said power failure had been minimised in both urban and rural areas with the introduction of new systems in place. Regular maintenance would have to continue especially during the monsoon, they said. “Power supply failure is rare in Kozhikode city. But outages could happen when a tree falls on power lines. Besides, the Outage Management System intimates consumers through SMS about any power disruption at least a day in advance,” KSEB Chief Engineer (Distribution-North) K.B. Swaminathan said.