Digital Education, Weaker Section Students and Super Court's Decision!

The pandemic has brought to fore the digital divide in the country and made education a privilege only a few can afford. Lack of smartphones, data costs, technology literacy, mobile connectivity, increased screen time, non-academic distractions and several social ills have only exacerbated the problem. Expressing serious concern over the plight of children belong to Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Disadvantaged Groups (DG) for not getting access to online education during the pandemic, the Supreme Court said that the Centre and the States have to come up with realistic and lasting plan to make Right to Education (RTE) a reality. The SC suggested that the centre and state governments should work together to find a way to ensure that education is not denied due to lack of resources. A Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and BV Nagarathna said that it is an important step under the Right to Education (RTE) Act and the Centre must also coordinate with the state government to share responsibilities for funding for resources.For sure the pandemic has created havoc in our lives. But it’s the children, and especially those from economically weaker sections, who have felt the brunt. Without regular classes, without adequate digital infrastructure education of these children have suffered a big blow.India's smartphone market is set to hit a record high of 173 million units in 2021, growing at 14 per cent year-on-year, according to Counterpoint Research.