Bhubaneswar: When the entire education system has moved to the online platform, students in Odisha villages find it tough to keep up with the rest due to poor connectivity and network problems in rural parts of the state.
Serious problems have cropped up in the rural parts of Odisha where online activities have considerably increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Minister of State for Information Technology Tushar Kanti Behera, the education sector has been mostly affected because of emphasis on online classes due to the pandemic, reported The New Indian Express. He said that online classes have affected rural areas’ students as the 4G network is not available in all villages.
The Odisha government has also had a discussion on the matter with telecom operators BSNL, Airtel, Idea and Jio. According to Behera, it is because of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s intervention, Airtel has provided connectivity in some areas of Malkangiri, the paper reported.
Network and connectivity is an issue in Kandhamal, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Sundargarh and Koraput districts, the minister informed.
Several letters have been sent by the chief minister and the government in this matter as it is a subject of the Centre. Despite assurances of increasing teledensity in Odisha, nothing has been done in this regard so far, Behera rued.
According to the Minister of State for School and Mass Education Samir Ranjan Dash, an increase in teledensity is required in tribal-dominated areas of Odisha and he is expecting that sooner than later.
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