With the coronavirus-induced pandemic forcing everyone to quarantine at home, educational institutions had to press pause on in-person classes and had to resort to online teaching.
However, most Indian families do not have an internet connection at home and as a result students are finding it difficult to keep up with their education.?
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In areas where connectivity is almost non-existent in homes, students are looking for other options.?
Students of three villages in Devalamakki gram panchayat, Karwar taluk in Karnataka gather together at a bus stand every day to access the internet and attend online classes, reports Times of India. Since connectivity is a challenge in the forest and hilly areas in Uttara Kannada, these students have no other option but to find a common spot where they can connect to the internet and continue their education.
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Devalamakki, about 28km from Karwar, comprises eight villages and three of them, Nage, Shirve and Kove, have no mobile network. Shirve is located on a hill, while Nage and Kove are surrounded by thick forests.?
There is only one mobile tower ¡ª belonging to BSNL ¡ª in Devalamakki. The three villages have 26 houses and a population of 1,500 of which 10 per cent are students. These students now either have to walk or ride a bicycle every day to find a spot from where they can access the net. Some of them sit in shops, while others sit in bus stops or a friend¡¯s house.
¡°We are all poor agriculturists, but we want our children to get an education. With classes now online, we had to buy mobile phones which were of no use till now,¡± said Nagaraj Padwalkar, a local. Others said, ¡°These villages are rich in greenery and are tourist destinations. People come here to trek. But we lack basic facilities like a mobile network. Government should think about it.¡± Prajwal Shet, a villager, said people¡¯s representatives in the area should come forward to solve the problem students face.?
He also added that erecting new mobile towers in the area is one way the people can progress and students can have easy access to their online education.