Digital Education among Tribal Children – A Study on the Effect of the Corona Pandemic

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic has forced us to choose an alternate way of living. A radical change is evident in education, trade, health and such. This coupled with the advancement of technology has accelerated the growth and popularity of digital education. Across the domains, right from the elementary classes to postgraduate degrees and more, the proliferation of digital education has grown by leaps and bounds. Media such as smartphones, televisions, PCs, etc. are used for this purpose. The one alarming concern, however, is the accessibility to these mediums, particularly for the less privileged and marginalized strata of society. The Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes of Kerala in India are no exception to this. This research has primarily relied on the indices of illiteracy, dropout rates and dilapidated conditions of these not-so-privileged communities. Quite intriguingly, despite the claims made by the authorities, there has been no proper study or research carried out pertaining to this acute issue. In light of this, we have collected data from students belonging to the tribal communities of Wayanad in Kerala. Ultimately, this study points to the fact that the pandemic has caused irreparable damage to the education sector in Kerala, causing a prodigious digital divide by fracturing the universal rule of accessible education.