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Covid 19 Impact - Online Classes Mean an End to Education for Girls in Rural Areas

By Unknown
“It has been six months since I read any book. My school closed in March and I have not been able to study after that,” said 14-year-old Keerti Yadav. She went to the mango orchards with her mother to pluck mangoes in the last week of June.

“My mother was not working at that time. Now she has gone back to working as a domestic help and I do the chores at home,” she said. The family has only one multimedia phone and her brother uses it for his online classes.

Ever since unlock was announced in the state of Uttar Pradesh, 14-year-old Keerti Yadav started to go to the fields with her mother to help her in agricultural work. Keerti Yadav is a resident of Shravasti district in Uttar Pradesh. Keerti had written her class VIII examinations in March before her school was closed, following the nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Girls like Keerti Yadav in the rural parts of Shravasti district have had to stop attending online classes since boys get to use the mobile phones at home. This is widening the female literacy gap further.

In his village, Bhanu Yadav has a little tea-and-snacks shop that he has taken on a rent of Rs 1,000 per month. Beside this, the family owns a land where they grow some lentils and vegetables. “We own around 500 square feet of land in the village, next to our house. But, we barely get any extra vegetables to be sold. It just suffices us four,” he said.

“We have two daughters and a son. The eldest daughter is married and lives in Banares. Our younger children Keerti and Rohit live with us,” Bhanu Yadav, Keerti’s father, told VillageSquare.in. Rohit is the youngest of his children.

Following the central government’s order of keeping the educational institutes closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, schools and colleges began conducting online classes with the use of smart phones and computers. However, there have been no measures to arrange for alternatives for those students who do not have access to any, resulting in an educational gap amongst the girls, especially in rural areas.

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