Students with no internet access told to use service centres

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, August 1

The Department of Higher Education has directed all teaching and non-teaching employees to come to the college from August 4 to initiate the admission process for the coming academic session.

The principals have been asked to make a timetable for the college immediately and to ensure the conduct of 70 per cent classes online. The remaining 30 per cent classes will be conducted offline when the situation normalises.

Interestingly, the students who do not have hardware and internet connections have been told to use the nearest Common Service Centres (CSCs) for online classes when the fact is that no such facility is available at the CSCs.

“More than 25 per cent of college students residing in villages could not join online classes during the lockdown as they didn’t have smart phones and internet connections. Teaching these students online will remain a big challenge in the coming session as well in the absence of smart phones with internet facility,” said a college lecturer.

Rohtak district has 250 CSCs and free Wi-Fi facility is available only in 10 CSCs located in the villages. The CSCs are being run by private persons under the Digital India programme. These are access points for delivery of essential public utility services, social welfare schemes, healthcare, financial, educational and agriculture services in rural, remote and urban areas of the country.

“The CSC operator uses his/her personal computer or laptop to provide the service to the people and charges a nominal fee from them. Why will he/she allow the students to use the equipment for online classes in place of doing his/her primary job?” said an official associated with the CSC programme.

He maintained free Wi-Fi facilities were at present being provided to 10 CSCs under a government scheme for rural development. The facilities would be extended to 139 gram panchayats in the coming days, he added.