Lack of digital connectivity, television, android phones, and internet provision is making online classes inaccessible to Adivasi students, due to which they are unable to keep abreast of education in the current academic year.
A recent report from the ground by PDSU (Vijrumbhana) group has brought to light this fact, and demanded that the government ensure continuous education of Adivasi students by establishment of schools in each tribal hamlet, and instruction by local Adivasi teachers.
A fact-finding team of the PDSU (Vijrumbhana) toured the agency and Adivasi areas of Asifabad, Mancherial and Adilabad districts, besides remote villages of ITDA Utnoor and Eturunagaram tribal regions between August 20 and 25, and prepared a comprehensive report on the difficulties faced by students and their parents.
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There was no mobile network or DTH connectivity in village panchayats such as Pangidi Madara, Manikyapur, Asnoor, Rompally, Mangi, Gopera, and Thatiguda in Tiryani mandal of Asifabad district. Even where there were television sets, they were not functional owing to lack of cable connectivity, the report said.
Citing a field survey conducted in June by teachers to rope in Adivasi students for online classes through an app designed by the Tribal Welfare department, the report noted that a predominant number of students did not have android phones.
A teacher, A.Bhujanga Rao, from Tribal Welfare residential school in Bodda Singaram hamlet of Indravelli mandal in Adilabad district, said that only six students of Class X had access to android phones which belonged to their older siblings, and to use them even, they were forced to to climb hillocks for signals. Phone balance is another problem, owing to parents’ poverty, besides difficulty with the English language in operating mobile apps.
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The school has only one television set, and teaching the 320 students will be a huge problem.
Similar situation prevailed at tribal villages of Penchikalpet, Bejjur, Dahegam, Vemanapalli mandals in Asifabad district, with regard to mobile signals and DTH connectivity. At some places, frequent power-cut added to the problem. The issues with regard to online classes are not limited to school studentsl; they extended to college students, the report said, with examples.
When the team sought version of district-level education officials, they admitted that some areas lacked internet connectivity, and said efforts were being made for getting cable connection. They also said majority schools had a single television set, which would prove insufficient for online classes, keeping in view the student strength.
Alleging that the Telangana government was showing apathetic attitude towards tribal and Adivasi students, the report demanded revocation of online classes, and instruction by local teachers in the mother tongues concerned.