The coronavirus has pushed schools all over the world to go online as new waves of infections keep emerging. In India, a country where the gaps in access to education and the Internet were already vast, poor families are struggling to stay the course. Out of these, the poorest and most marginalised children are at highest risk of never returning to the classroom. The spokesperson for India’s Ministry for Human Resource Development and the secretary of the School Education and Literacy department did not respond to an email and or phone calls asking for comment. Many of her students have never used phones before, and their parents themselves don’t know enough to help.

Source: The Star July 24, 2020 04:30 UTC