20 % Students Without Digital Access : Karnataka HC Says State Has Obligation Under Article 21A To Ensure Children Attend Online Classes

The State Government informed the Karnataka High Court that an estimated 20 percent of students studying in Government and government aided schools in the state have no access to any gadgets or television or any virtual mode for taking instructions from teachers. A division bench of Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice Hanchate Sanjeev Kumar expressed concern over this submission and said :"This percentage of students who are not attending classes virtually is of great concern. In fact if these students happen to be girls students and not attending classes virtually, in absence of schools remaining shut, there is possibility of such girls students being married off particularly in rural areas. Their safety is also concerned in as much as the threat of trafficking of children including minor boys is significantly high." It added : "In absence of said percentage of children having any kind of link to teaching being imparted virtually during this ongoing pandemic on account of non-availability of technology, there is threat of children being engaged in child labour or begging or rather such activities which is totally against interest of such children." The court then expressed that children are vulnerable on account of not being able to access the classroom virtually due to non-availability of technology. It said "How such children would spend time while all others who have access to technology will be attending virtual classes is a matter of concern of this court." To this, the government counsel replied that it was decided that mentoring of such children would be done and steps would be taken to make available technology to such children, if they make an application to Block Development Officer or the Tahsildar, to provide technological support as per the timetable. In response the court said : "We can only visualize their plight but cannot just be rest assured by a sympathy being extended to them. In fact it is plight of the vulnerable children which concerns the court, in the absence of available of technology and not being instructed by teachers they become more vulnerable to the threats referred to above and be marginalized and they prove to be a source of great concerns, not only for parents and guardian but also for society and the state." The court also reminded the state government that : "If object of Article 21A is to be emphasized education is to be imparted to children upto age of 14 years as it is their Fundamental Right and the obligation is on the state to provide accessing of education by means of technology in absence of schools being opened due to pandemic. If such steps are not taken for these children by state, they would be a failure on part of the state in ensuring Fundamental Rights of such children under article 21-A of the Constitution and also the right of the child to be educated." Senior Advocate Harish Narasappa appearing for petitioner A A Sanjeev Narrain submitted that though the State government data shows that around 20 percent students do not have access, it is not the reality. "In my petition I have attached the report of the National Statistical Office (NSO) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, 2018, which states that in Karnataka, for rural households, only a dismal 2% of households have access to a computer and only 8.3% of households have access to internet facilities. For urban households, only 22.9% of households have access to a computer and 33.5% of households have access to internet facilities", the senior counsel submitted. Following which the court noted "Even according to the state government 20 percent do not have access to technology and therefore not benefiting on classroom instructions that would commence from July1. State would have to consider steps to be taken for ensuring that this 20 percent of students are remained within the education system and a link is established to the classroom, so that they are not deprived of the classroom instruction that is to commence from July 1, virtually for the present academic year." The court also directed that data shall be collected by the Commissioner of Public Instruction in regard to availability of technology to school students in the following manner. Between June 15 to June 30, class teachers of every government school and aided schools can collect information from respective students/parents about availability of smartphones/computers/laptops. The said data be furnished by teachers to the headmaster, who shall in turn convey the said data to the Block Education Officer. The BEO shall compile the data and submit it to the Deputy Director of Public Instructions of each district. He would submit the same to the Commissioner who would compile the data collected from districts, taluks and submit before this court the actual figures of students who have no access to technology or who have poor access to...

20 % Students Without Digital Access : Karnataka HC Says State Has Obligation Under Article 21A To Ensure Children Attend Online Classes

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