Over 10,000 students in Vavuniya affected by lack of online facilities
View(s):More than 10,000 school children in the Vavuniya education division (both North and South) have been deprived of education for more than a year due to lack of communication equipment for online education, the Sunday Times learns.
Vavuniya Zonal Education Director S. Annamalar said they are doing their best by providing printed material to students, but a lack of mobile phones and internet facilities have discouraged students from participating in online sessions.
“We have adapted a system of teaching to avoid children abstaining from their studies. We are hoping kind donors will come forward and help these students by providing technological assistance,” she said.
S. Jesudasan, a wood collector from Vavuniya, said parents of these children do not have phones themselves, and cannot afford to purchase a phone for their children.
“Education authorities and politicians have failed to assist students in their studies. This has resulted in many children ending up as labourers, and thousands of children have dropped out of school because of the pandemic,” he said.
(Chris Kamalendran)