As the lockdown over the coronavirus came into effect since March 24, the gauntlet of educating children has been thrown on parents since all schools and colleges have remained closed indefinitely.
With teachers no longer involved with teaching as in classroom settings, many parents are finding the going tough since the online study sent from schools through various applications such as App Online and particularly WhatsApp etc. have compelled them to become teachers.
One revelation from the ongoing Online study being initiated by various schools and colleges is that most parents especially from the low income group are placed in a difficult situation when it comes to using mobile apps.
Some parents are not well acquainted with academic teaching, while another common aspect is that most parents are not technically savvy when it comes to use of mobile apps. They would take some time while learning to become familiar with the applications in the gadgets.
A substantial number of parents are also not well educated to be in any position to teach children, a task that is generally left to tuition teachers.
Each child has to have a mobile for use during online study and parents with three or four school going children have to purchase that many mobile phones so that each child can do the homework/assignment etc.
Another point that has been noticed is that a parent from a lower middle income group and having three or four school-doing children has to spend huge amount to buy required mobile smart phones.
The bill for purchase of smart phones is a burden as much as having to still pay for school fees without any classes.
Parents from most lower middle income group would afford to spend between Rs.5000 to Rs.6000 for a mobile; whereas the price for a fairly good mobile smart phone varies anything from Rs.10,000 and above. Therefore, the budget for three or four mobile smart phones would mean spending Rs.30,000 to Rs.40,000 as per the current rates and availability in the market.
Quite obviously, children these days are smart enough not to accept mobile phones that aren’t smart enough for them.
The lockdown is certainly changing life but for some, it comes with a price.