Education Imprisoned: Plight Of Kashmiri Students
Mayukh Biswas
“Where the people are many and their hands are all empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
And the executioner’s face is always well hidden.”
When the pandemic went on taking lives, it exposed the reality of the health care system of the country which continues to be plagued by neglect. In addition to that, the Modi government’s true form was also out in the open when they forced students to take their final year exams under such stressful conditions. At the same time, the government has done nothing to reopen educational institutions or provide adequate infrastructure, except bring out some ‘guidelines’, which are simply an eyewash. The pressure from big businesses has forced the government into opening shopping malls, cinemas, and even pubs and bars, but the country’s students still do not have their classroom or efficient alternatives. The government has deliberately let heads of central institutions to take a call on this, while in effect providing no funding for infrastructure development to cater to a post COVID-19 scenario. The intention behind keeping universities and schools closed is clear.
Besides all of this, the government, via the New ‘National Education Policy’ has planned to close down schools and colleges in remote, rural places. The pandemic has given further impetus for the government to hand over teaching to corporate sharks, who are currently unable to gain profits from other sectors in an era of declining growth and economic downturn. According to the United Nations International Labour Organisation (ILO), more than 400 million workers from India’s informal sector will be pushed deeper into poverty due to the effects of COVID-19. However, the government is busy spending crores on unnecessary festivals aimed at brewing communal tensions or giving subsidies to their crony capitalist friends.
More than 320 million students have been hit by the COVID-19 lockdown and the subsequent shift to online education. The 75th report of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) for 2017-18, which highlights the digital divide in the country, says that only 23.8% of Indians have access to the internet — with urban areas leading with 42% and rural at a meagre 14.9%. Amid such a great inequality, frustrated students have been pushed to take extreme and desperate steps like self-harm. The recent suicide by a Lady Shri Ram college student exposes the hardships faced by them due to the government’s callousness. The impact is not restricted to the sphere of education, but in government schools, additional problems such as the unavailability of learning material and mid-day meals have also pushed marginalised students to extreme stress. Despite the Supreme Court directive to ensure the supply of these essential amenities, many school students still do not receive mid-day meals. The problem of digital access was further exacerbated by the unavailability of textbooks — 80% of the parents surveyed by Oxfam India said that their children had no textbooks to use as an aid for their online lessons.
While Modi is seen feeding peacocks on TV, India’s millions are hungry. Education, especially that of vulnerable communities, has taken a huge hit.
The Plight of Kashmiri Students
In this context, students of Jammu and Kashmir have been one of the worst hit categories in the country.
Internet accessibility in Jammu and Kashmir has been a frequent issue in the news after the drastic decision taken on August 5, 2019. As part of the abrogation of Article 370, the central administration suspended internet services and implemented complete communication blockade in the region, fearing “law-and-order situation”. Months later, in the first week of March 2020, the authorities imposed another draconian internet shutdown with only 2G services allowed, along with a digital blackout in place. All sorts of communication services — including the internet, mobile phone, and landline, were inactivated.
In the middle of all this, expecting students from the region to appear for examinations is nothing beyond a cruel joke designed to rub salt in the wounds of the people of the state. Quite naturally, none of the students there would be able to attend online classes (which requires high speed unlimited data) and neither will they be able to download academic videos. As students have no access to college and university libraries, they are dependent solely on 2G internet and hard copies of books. Broadband connection is only functional occasionally and with low internet speed, it takes hours long to download small amounts of data. Besides this, it takes around Rs. 6,500-7,000 to establish broadband fibre connections, which obviously is not affordable for all. Time wise, it takes at least a month to establish the connection, considering the pandemic situation. According to many recent reports, the 4G ban in Jammu and Kashmir has been extended to 22nd January.
Where Online Education is a Myth
Recently, The Diplomat magazine tested the speed of the internet on Airtel and Jio, the two internet providers in India. It reports, “We saw a Kashmiri user receive 100-110 kb/s internet speed if his phone displays five network bars (indicating a strong signal) and 40-60kb/s on two to three network bars. At the same time, we saw YouTube is able to stream only 144p – 240p. But when a user connects to the internet, the speed continually decreases; the user will have to switch the phone to flight mode to refresh the network to receive better speed. A normal webpage takes two minutes to load in mobile mode; if the user uses desktop mode on the phone, the webpage takes four minutes to load.”
Also, heavy snowfall in Kashmir leads to power cuts of 7-8 hours, due to which students won’t have any alternative to Wi-Fi services either.
Imtiaz, a college student, was compelled to travel all the way to New Delhi from Kulgam, to avail internet facilities, as they were suspended. Even simple tasks like downloading study materials from the internet was not possible from his town. The strive to study and eagerness to survive in these difficult times is what pushed Imtiaz to travel all the way to New Delhi.
Unemployment in J & K was at a staggering average of 17.9% in July 2020. Most of the students, hailing from marginalised sections, have no regular source of income. Many scholars were forced to drop out due to the unavailability of digital tools and started working on farms to gain some income for the family. In addition to coursework, exam schedules, which were previously published online, had to be orally shared among students. In particular, women’s education has suffered the most as a decline in their family income during the pandemic has resulted in them being pushed to the confines of their homes. All of this has also led to severe psychological trauma among J & K’s students.
Solidarity Forever
The issues faced by students are multifaceted — many of them in homes lack the personal space and atmosphere required for serious academic exercise, many are made to care for their sick relatives and tend to other household chores (especially women), many grapple with serious mental health issues and some are even quarantined after returning back to their homes from universities.
The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the J & K Students’ Association wrote to people like the Union Education Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal and the Jamia Millia Islamia Vice Chancellor, urging them to scrap the online mode of examination. The decision was taken in a completely undemocratic manner without any consideration with students. SFI has also come out against the JKPMSS (Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Special Scholarship) department of AICTE (All India Council of Technical Education) for not disbursing full scholarship to students from J & K. While college fees have been processed by the JKPMSS Department, maintenance fee remains. The scholarship is given on the basis of need and merit to the students having family income of less than 8 lakh. Every year, students from lower economic backgrounds depend entirely on the scholarship for their higher studies and if denied, they will be forced to drop-out from the colleges.
All of these guidelines and decisions will reinforce the spirit of elitism into our education systems. Such moves will be detrimental to Indian education and we believe that students from kinds of backgrounds should be put on an equal standing.
Pain engulfs Kashmiri students as schools are shut and they are deprived of basic educational facilities. SFI stands in rock solid solidarity with Kashmiri students and states in clear terms that we’ll be always with them through their struggles for a better life.
References
- https://thediplomat.com/2020/06/as-life-moves-online-amid-the-pandemic-kashmiri-education-is-being-left-behind/
- https://www.newsclick.in/J%26K-Students-Face-Hardship-Maintenance-Under-Scholarship-Scheme-Unpaid-Since-June
- https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/economy/covid-19-400-mln-jobs-lost-in-q2-2020-says-international-labour-organization-72086
- https://scroll.in/article/973138/indian-public-schools-failed-to-provide-education-during-lockdown-say-80-parents-in-a-new-survey
Mayukh Biswas is the All India General Secretary of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), and a PhD scholar at the University of Calcutta.
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