Pune: Internet Facilities Available Only In 410 Zilla Parishad Schools

Pune, 9th July 2021: Due to Covid-19 the whole education system is dependent upon e-learning.

It has been observed that only 410 out of 3642 Zilla Parishad (ZP) schools have internet facilities. Due to which all the students and teachers are dependent on cell phones.

Since the last two years, all schools and colleges have been closed down. Schools have been guiding students through online classes which is the only available source for studies.

There is even such a situation that parents of some students from rural or people from inaccessible areas don’t own mobile phones. Some people have mobiles but they don’t have internet facilities, which is causing a tough situation for students. Only 1033 schools out of 1,262 aided schools have internet facilities.

Due to excessive use of mobile phones, students are being inactive. And students from rural and inaccessible areas are facing internet connectivity problems. As it has observed that the current education system has been collapsing, students are facing drastic losses in their academics and overall activities. This situation is resulting in a demand of parents for offline schools as soon as the covid situation comes under control.

Sayali Sutar, a student, said, “We are facing an internet connectivity problem in our village. Due to electricity cutouts in rural areas, even charging our mobile phones for several days is impossible. Online classes have been started but due to work and other reasons parents need their mobiles when they move out for work, which results in low attendance of students in online classes.”

Om Sutar, a student, said, “There are internet connectivity problems in inaccessible areas. As we don’t have two mobiles, my sister and I need to use a single mobile phone alternatively for online classes. This lets us attend the classes only one at a time. Mostly during rainy seasons, electricity cutouts are observed for continuous 8-15 days. Such situations are built so that it becomes impossible to attend classes.”

KM Dhandre, a teacher, said, “Students from rural areas don’t own private mobile phones which results in low attendance in online classes. Complaints regarding internet connectivity issues faced by students have been reported by parents. Even if teachers from rural areas have the will to take online classes and guide students it becomes impossible due to internet and electricity problems.”