The great digital divide

We are now two months into lock down- one of the most stringent in the world.  Of course, the main concern for the educators is how we are going to complete the syllabus, when are we going to open, and as researchers, we are also worried about our laboratories.

When the lock down was announced, my students decided to freeze down the cells and store them in -80oC.  Some of the cells were stored in liquid nitrogen tanks.  After two months, we ended up losing all the cells stored in one liquid nitrogen tank because we could not fill it.  We moved the cells from the other liquid nitrogen tank into -80oC.  Of course this is summer, a very mild one but still intense.  This means we have to run Air conditioners non-stop.  Given the condition of wiring (the engineering department has not got around to changing the wiring system), we have asked one of the lab attendant (who has not been paid since the lock down began) to come to the lab every day and ensure that everything is okay.   Even then, my students and I are apprehensive- will our cells survive?  How long will it take to restart the lab?

This is just one aspect.

When the lock down began, the faculty started looking into ways of finishing the syllabus. Many of them have finished the course by sending the students power point slides, hoping that they can download it and study.  The first year Ph.D. students, however, have to write a term paper and a research proposal as part of their course work.  With great enthusiasm, we told these students to complete both the assignments during the lock down.  They immediately sent us an email saying that most of them do not have internet connection and therefore, cannot access research articles/journals.  Hence, all such assignments can be completed only after the lock down is lifted.  We were silenced.

One of my student later told me that the internet connection in her place only works intermittently.  Most of them time she uses the data card in her phone to download and access research articles.  Another student told me that he has written part of his thesis but  cannot send it to me due to erratic internet connection.

That brings me to the great digital divide.

Living in Delhi, it often escapes my attention that electricity and internet are not available 24 hr in other cities- especially the small towns and villages where most of our students reside.  Even in Delhi, children living in urban slums do not access to 24 hr electricity and internet.  They also do not have privacy.  One room is shared by all the members of the family.

Private schools and private colleges have been conducting online classes- but these are accessible only to a minuscule section of students. The government schools do not have required infrastructure to conduct online classes and their students do not have access to internet.  For us, in government universities- the infrastructure is available but students do not have access to internet.