The National Education Policy 2020 has proposed digital solutions to counter literacy challenges but can such an approach bridge learning gaps in rural areas? Also, do we have an adequate digital infrastructure to make e-learning accessible to every single child living in India’s marginalized geographies? Rajesh Bhatia, the founder of the TreeHouse chain of schools says there is huge potential in the borderless model of education in areas where physical infrastructure is sparse. Brick-and-mortar schools that do offer subsidised education may lack good teachers, adequate furniture, toilets, drinking water, playgrounds, and digital facilities and can demotivate children from continuing their studies.
Bhatia says, “Currently, rural and tribal populations struggle to educate their children in institutions that sometimes lack even basic infrastructure or are too far-flung to be easily accessible. During the pandemic, and the prolonged closure of schools, yawning digital inequities also revealed themselves in underserved areas, and in order to improve the country’s overall literacy rate, we must infuse rural education with a digital boost. Improving digital infrastructure could bring huge dividends as children who are forced to drop out of schools due to multiple reasons could still study online.”
Bhatia concedes that implementing a digital model will not be easy and adds, “To begin with, economic hardships prevent parents from sometimes even considering primary education as a viable option for their children. A family may not also be able to afford a basic digital device or an internet connection if it is available. But without finding a way to address low rates of enrollment and higher dropout rates, we cannot hope to bring about literacy parity in the country.”
Digital education, he says, if made accessible and affordable, could also bridge gender divides and empower girls who are not allowed to go to school. Bhatia agrees, there is no magic wand that can bring about these changes but believes that e-learning platforms are the future of equitable education. He adds, “The pandemic has forced us to see beyond what is available, and at what is possible. This is the right time to create an educational blueprint for the future. Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), the collaboration between the government, educational institutions, grassroots organisations, and educational experts can co-create e-learning modules for children who will one day steer the future of India as young citizens.”
He insists that the time of conventional, dated learning and teaching methods is long gone and concludes, “What our children deserve is a standardized education system that they can access via futuristic Information and communications technology networks, both inside and outside classrooms and we must work together to achieve this goal in the near future.”
