Students in Odisha's Ganjam face difficulties in attending online classes due to lack of smartphones, network issues
Jul 04, 2021
Ganjam (Odisha) [India], July 4 : Students from poor tribal families in Odisha's Ganjam face difficulties in attending online classes as many of them do not have smartphones or face network issues.
According to Kanhucharan Nayak, a teacher in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, most tribal families do not have enough money to buy a mobile phone and those who have one cannot get network connectivity.
Speaking to ANI, Nayak said, "Both life and livelihoods of poor tribal villagers have been affected by the epidemic. It is also affecting the education of children. The schools are closed due to the pandemic and the government has decided to educate children online. However, it has failed miserably due to poverty, shortage of mobile phones, and network problems."
"Students are suffering from the non-availability of networks. The children are walking 1 to 3 kilometres to search the network. Even some of them are climbing mountains and trees," she added.
A Class 5 student said, "I have no smartphone. There are around 5-6 children who are using one mobile phone. We have to walk for 1-3 km due to network issues."
Abinash Satpathy, block education officer, Ganjam said, "After inquiry, I called local sarpanch and BDO and decided that some educational videos will be downloaded through the cable operator and we will arrange some LED TV for the students in a separate place."
