Education and equality

The problem was first brought up months ago, as all higher education institutions in the country went online in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, and it has continued. In fact, it may have grown as students who lack access to cellular internet services complain that they are missing out on education and will not be able to keep up with classmates who have better access. In parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, students have protested and demanded internet services be restored to the tribal districts which were recently merged in KP. Students have argued that this violates their basic human right to free expression and equal treatment as other citizens. They have also said that the future of thousands of tribal students is at risk. Students in Balochistan, where internet services are at best patchy and sometimes completely unavailable, have also voiced their concerns.

In response, the Higher Education Commission has insisted that online education will continue and that the problems being mentioned would be gradually sorted out. We see no signs that this resolution is taking place. Breakdowns in electricity in many remote districts also have an impact on students using the internet given that a limited number have the financial means or the required access to use 3G services for prolonged periods of time. This issue of how online learning has exacerbated the gap between groups based on residential address and income has also come in other countries. In our country, it is also a fact that female students are especially badly affected as they often have even more limited access to the internet.

These may seem like trivial issues to those living in larger cities. But the students from marginalised areas of the country have made it clear that it is a very real issue. As real is the insistence of universities on charging full fees for semesters during which teaching is conducted online. Again, as is the case in other countries, Pakistani students maintain that the quality of lessons suffers significantly without direct interaction and of course where the internet is not available, it makes it impossible for students to keep up with courses. The matter needs to be taken seriously by the government. It affects not only college and university students but also those in schools with the education ministers of both Sindh and Punjab saying educational institutions will be the last to open up once the Covid-19 crisis ends. For students, online classes are creating another band of disparity between students based on where they live and what their financial background is.