Teaching Social Sciences for a Better Future

Abstract

The ‘haves vs have-nots’ discourse has become a strongly grounded reality in our country with respect to access to education in the past two years. Digital divide persisting in the country is crucial evidence for this. National Sample Survey (2017-18), prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, reported that less than 15 percent of the rural Indian households have internet access whereas it is 42 percent among the urban households. The India Case Study by UNICEF 2021 reported that only 32 percent of rural and 54 percent of urban population of 12+ years have internet access. In fact, other than the role of infrastructure and geography in educational access, gender and class also plays a role. Reports also suggest that the divide between the marginalised and the privileged sections of the society has also widened, particularly in terms of their educational access.