OUR CORRESPONDENT
KOKRAJHAR: Nedan Foundation, an NGO based in Kokrajhar which has been working against human trafficking, on Friday organized a campaign meeting on digital divide in getting education at Bodoland Guest House, Kokrajhar.
The chairman of the Nedan Foundation, Digambar Narzary said that with more than 9 million cases, India ranks second in COVID-19 cases globally. The government had temporarily closed school-colleges to prevent the spread of the pandemic and on the other hand, to compensate the school closures, the campaign Bharat Padhe Online was vigorously promoted, he said, adding that this campaign facilitated the continuity of learning for all through online education and children were provided education via various digital platforms. However, it seems that instead of broadening the opportunity of education for all, it had the reverse effect. He also said the gap between education of boys and girls has actually been widened due to virtual studies and this difference is being called the digital divide.
Narzary said, "It is important to understand what the 'digital divide' is and why is insignificant. The term is used to portray the split between those able to access and get benefit from the internet and those who are deprived of such benefits. This term first came into use in the 1990s. It was noticed that dearth of information was being created due to lack of accessibility and availability of internet. There were global attempts being made to bridge this digital divide and expand the access of infrastructure, application and services related to internet to common masses. While the effort was being made to eliminate the difference that arose due to the internet, another disparity has procreated, that is, the 'gender digital divide'," he said, adding that this divergence was equally dangerous because it directly reduced the rights of half the population and gender digital divide explained that the internet was not as easily accessible to girls as it was available to boys.
"The north-eastern state of Assam, with a history of internal disturbances, floods, communal and ethnic violence and internal displacements, has been even more vulnerable to the pandemic. We surveyed 484 households in rural and semi-urban areas of five districts (Dhubri, Jorhat, Kokrajhar, Lakhimpur and Tinsukia), which have their own history of ethnic conflict, political movements and being highly flood-prone," Narzary said, adding that mostly employed in agriculture and tea estates, their sample was composed of 20 per cent Muslims, 15 per cent Christians, 29 per cent SC/STs, and included indigenous Adivasi communities from central India working as labourers.
"Interestingly, only about one fifth of the female members of the household said that they were doing unpaid domestic work and about 70 per cent of the women in these areas were engaged in occupations outside the household. Other than adults, we also interviewed 484 adolescents (69 per cent girls, 31 per cent boys) aged 10 to 18 years, mostly in government schools (73 per cent) and in private-unaided schools (13 per cent). Remote learning or e-learning in the Corona-era has posed some real challenges for girls' education," he said adding, "There are many such cases during online studies in which the tendency of suicide among girls increased as they were struggling to continue their education. He said in early June, a 14-year-old girl committed suicide in southern Kerala as she did not have a smart phone to study. A similar incident occurred in West Bengal, where a 16-year-old girl committed suicide due to fear of failure as she did not get opportunity to attend online classes, he added.
The chairman of Nedan Foundation said that the Household Social Consumption on Education in India worked on the National Sample Survey Office's (NSSO), 2017-18 report. It was found that only 15 per cent of the populations in the rural areas have internet access. At the same time, this access is reduced to 8.5 per cent for women who have a smart phone, or can access the broadband/internet if needed, he said. However, the latest data from UNICEF shows that across the globe, one out of every seven school going girl, is now lagging behind in e-learning. The situation is worse in Asian countries and especially in India. There are many reasons for this. (IANS)
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