“In rural pockets, it is common to find a family having only one phone which is taken away either by mother or father while going to work for daily wage. The parents who cannot afford android set, use keypad phone which cannot access online classes,” said Manas Ranjan Deep, an assistant teacher of the school.
Sarita, a student of Class V, agreed with Manas as she said her parents refused to buy an android set for her despite repeated demand.
Another teacher, Arvind Sabar said parents of only 10 students have android phones and the internet cannot be accessed at their homes. The Gopalpur primary school had won the “Garima Award” in 2020, but now the students’ talent is going waste for poor internet connectivity.
The connectivity is either poor or totally zero in the schools located in Madhupur, Bhaluchanchara, Jamguda, Talbeda under Gobardhanpur panchayat in Lanjigarh block. In the remote areas of the block, students have to trek 2-3 km to hilltops to access the internet connection.
District Education Officer (DEO) of Kalahandi, Susanta Kumar Chopdar said, “We have received complaints many times that the students trek hilly areas to get the network which is quite pathetic. We have communicated the problems to the higher officials.”
However, sources said the state government is taking steps to resolve the issue. At a meeting attended by Minster of State for Home Dibya Shankar Mishra recently, it was decided that a device will be installed in the selected high schools to ensure smooth internet connectivity.
At present, BSNL, JIO and Airtel are providing the internet services in the district.
