'No money for food, forget smartphones,' say Dharavi kids' parents

Even as children from across the state are slowly moving into the elearning mode those in Dharavi are finding it difficult to cope with the online classes as their families are mostly out of jobs due to the pandemic and cant afford smartphones or laptops Most of the 530 students of Banyan Tree English School near Matunga Labour Camp come from daily wager families for whom getting the basic equipment for online classes is financially not feasibleBanyan Tree English School near Matunga Labour CampThe school provides education to its students at a subsidised fee of Rs 200 per year as its difficult for their families to even afford the basic pay of a municipal school Most of the students come from families of daily wagers who live in and around the Labour Camp The school also has a total of 17 teachers Since the time online learning started most of the students have not been able to attend the classesNone of us have jobsThirtyfiveyearold Reeta Indrakumar Kohri whose husband is a tailor by profession has two daughters studying at the school While the younger one Nidhi is in Std V her elder sister Suvarna is in Std VI My husband lost his job in March after the company he used to work for shut down Ever since we have been finding it tough to even arrange for meals We manage because either someone helps us or we do some menial daily jobs But something is better than nothing she saidReeta Indrakumar Kohris daughters have been unable to attend the online classes since they startedShe further said My daughters have been unable to attend the online classes conducted by the school None of us in the family have a smartphone let alone a computer I sometimes borrow my neighbours smartphone so that they can attend the classes but we cannot keep asking them for help all the time How do I arrange for two smartphones or laptops Timings of their classes are different and their teachers have been complaining that they dont attend them but how can they without any means to do so We cannot buy a smartphone because currently none of us have jobsNo work in cityRajesh Janu Babare 35 lives on rent with his family in Dharavi His son Aryan studies in Std VI of the school They have temporarily moved back to his hometown in Raigad since he has been out of work for the past five months We have been staying in our village for more than five months now because there is no work in the city I havent earned any money since March We plan to return to Mumbai after Ganeshotsav since some businesses will hire people then he saidRajesh Babare a Dharavi resident with son AryanWe dont have a smartphone which is why Aryan has been finding it difficult to attend online classes said Rajesh adding that there are major network issues in his village as it was in a remote locationThere is no solution to this problem at the moment We will have to wait for things to get better Meanwhile I borrow my neighbours smartphone whenever I can so that my son can attend his classes He keeps asking me for a smartphone but then how do I explain that I cannot afford one he addedAlso ReadCOVID19 Mumbai needs more bus services for the public can 1500 school buses chip inLets wait and watchSpeaking to midday Parvez Damania founder and chairman of Damania Airways and president of the Banyan Tree Centre said Approximately 60 per cent of the students come from families who do not have smartphones or laptops The students have been facing this problem ever since March when we had to shut down the school prior to the first lockdown However another major problem they face is of extremely poor quality network which further prevents those who have access to gadgets needed for online learning from attending the classesParvez Damania president of Banyan Tree CentreWhen asked what the solution to the problem was Damania said Most of our students come from daily wager families hence forcing them to buy smartphones is not a fair thing to do If some families have two or three children attending school then how will they manage Or if there is a single smartphone in the family and the father takes it out with him how will the children attend classes Our fee is also negligible and sometimes we provide education to children for free Now the only solution is to wait and see how things play out in the near future All of us will have to bear with the situation because we are not the only ones facing the problems Even the teachers have been given a 50 per cent pay cutWant to donateDo you have a device or equipment that the school could use Please call Devanand Dethe project head on 9833428617If you would like to send money you can do so atChildren Education SocietySaraswat Coop Bank LtdJai Ganesh CHS Ltd60 Feet Road Dharavi Mumbai 400017 State Maharashtra INDIABranch DharaviIFSC code SRCB0000264SB Account Num 264203100000135MICR code 400088086Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the 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