Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, schools were for shut in order to contain the transmission of the disease. However, this has affected 286 million learners many of whom may never be able to return to schools. The pandemic has also exposed the vast digital divide in the country. Only one in four children have access to digital devices and the internet. The children of scheduled tribes and scheduled caste communities have been among the worst affected by this learning crisis. Many of them were first-generation school goers. But here is a story of the school coming to the children's homes - thanks to the Odisha government, with support from UNICEF.
Let’s reimagine a new future for India’s children affected by the COVID-19 crisis