Jul 1, 2021
In February 2021, union minister Prakash Javadekar told Parliament that no child had been deprived of an online education during the pandemic. “Nobody was deprived of education and online education,” he said. The statement belies what many activists on the ground know. Only 30% of the rural population has internet access and 65% in larger cities; just 35% of internet users are female, only 21% are internet mobile users, finds GSMA’s Mobile Gender Gap Report, 2020. With kids at home and many unable to access online classes, adult livelihoods lost and illness expenses mounting, more and more children are being put to work.
Namita Bhandare, 'Why The Pandemic Is A Child Rights Emergency In India', Article 14
