Introduction
The implications of the unforeseen challenges which the world is facing during this pandemic of COVID-19 is robust. Every country has its own shortcomings which need to be addressed by their respective governments. In India, one such sector is that of education. Even from the present scenario, the impact of COVID-19 can be seen in education.
The youth comprises more than half of the population of India. And now this population has been thrust into an e-learning experiment of unprecedented scale and scope. The mode of online education can be easy for students who live in metropolitan areas but not for those who live in rural areas.
Switching the mode of education from offline to online includes many hardships such as lack of infrastructure in terms of access to internet, absence or dearth of computers in schools, the inability of underprivileged students to procure computers, and lack of digital literacy amongst both teachers and students.
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Statistics
These problems worsen the case for the children of rural people and migrant workers. The Government of India’s ambitious Bharat Net program to connect more than 6 lakh villages through 2.5 lakh gram panchayats or village blocks with high-speed Internet is also far from achieving its targets. Only 8.33 percent of all gram panchayats have service ready Wi-Fi hotspots.
The mobile connectivity in rural is not so bad. As per the data collected from the Telecom Service Providers in 2019, it is estimated that out of 5,97,618 inhabited villages, including gram panchayats, about 5,69,987 are covered by mobile services. However, having mobile services does not necessarily mean having internet connectivity or that all such mobiles would be smartphones that can support e-learning technology.
The poor internet connection in rural India is further aggravated due to low household incomes, frequent cable cuts, unreliable electricity, and insufficient diesel supplies for generators in towers.
Indian Constitution
In the case of Mohini Jain vs. the State of Karnataka, the Supreme Court stated that the right to education is the part of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. In Unni Krishnan, JP & Ors. Vs. State of Andhra Pradesh & Ors., the Apex Court observed that the parameters of the right to education should be understood in the context of Article 45 which deals with the provisions of free and compulsory education for children till they complete the age of fourteen years.
In 2002, Article 21A was added to the Constitution of India which guarantees the right to free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years. Subsequently, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 was enacted. This legislation casts a legal obligation on the Central and state governments to ensure that the fundamental right enshrined under Article 21A is protected.
The High Court of Kerala, in the case of Faheema Shirin RK vs State Ors. went on to declare that the right to have access to the internet is an integral part of the right to education under Article 21.
Conclusion
The State is under the responsibility that the access to the internet should not be misused by the children. Moreover, children from less privileged communities should not suffer from their education. However, as per the current situation, the State is impairing the right of a majority of the student population and is further widening the urban-rural education gap. It is, therefore, a gross violation of Article 14 to allow access to e-learning to a privileged section of the student population while depriving the rest.
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The concept of ‘Education through Digital Means’ is still a distant dream and a large group of students will be disadvantaged by the reality that the right to the internet is an important aspect of the right to education.