Students climb tree houses for online classes in Wayanad

A student attending online class in a tree house

Periya: Virtual academic session First Bell along with Google Meet and Kite Victer’s Channel is progressing in Kerala but a section of students from Wayanad's Periya are left in the lurch due to poor internet connectivity.

Children of daily wage workers and small farmers in the area need to climb shanty tree houses in the hilltops even to get unstable network access.

Beating rains, winds and cold weather and allied with monsoon season, many students have no other option than these tree houses for learning.

Students in the regions like Alattil, Aynikkal, Vattoly and Irumanathoor have limited access to internet and many of them just depend on the session in the Victer’s channel. However, even that is getting interrupted due to connectivity impaired by monsoon. Students sitting on roadsides to get better connectivity is a common sight earlier. However, monsoon has added more trouble. Rains and seasonal insects are upsetting such open sessions.

Though the students are complaining about their connectivity issues to teachers and local body representatives, no comprehensive solution has been provided yet. For the families who find it difficult to meet ends amid pandemic induced financial crisis, managing funds to pay cable TV operators is troublesome. However, they are trying their best to avoid a situation where their children are not missing the lessons. The introduction of online classes became a double whammy for them as they cannot afford the cable-modem-based internet connection that costs more money.

The parents urge the attention of the authorities and demand to set up public learning centres where stable internet will be available.