Ro's Recz

There was a recent article in the WSJ about remote learning in India, and the challenges that students there are facing to try and get an education. It does a good job of putting into perspective how Zoom classes and online lectures are not the worst situation, and how there are many people with much worse situations.

In the article, it mentions how many kids in India are having to take classes on cell phones with a 2G connection (even slower than 3G). For some families, they have to have 3 kids go to school on the same phone, and they have to decide which classes are the most important to be streamed at a certain time. Adding to the challenge is the fact that the only place many of these kids can get reception is on the top of their house (on the roof), but it is getting difficult to do this because it is getting cold in India now.

While India has not been hit quite as hard with COVID as the United States has, it is the second hardest hit country in the world. This means that most of the learning is taking place remotely right now, and teachers and students are finding it really difficult to adjust.

Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done to improve the situation, as people just do not have the means to afford new cellphones or data plans in India. Therefore, India is trying new techniques such as broadcasting school lessons over the radio or giving physical textbooks; however, these are only short-term fixes.

This lack of education will definitely have a lasting impact on younger students in India, and I hope that the government is able to find better workarounds if school continues to be conducted remotely. Check out the entire article here though for the full story!