VALANCHERY (INDIA): A depressed Class IX student Devika Balakrishnan, 14-year-old daughter of a daily-wage earner, committed suicide by setting herself ablaze here yesterday (Tuesday 2nd June, 2020) as being poor she did not happen to harbor  gadgets (Smart Phone/TV) needed to attend online classes.

She had been pushing for the television to be repaired but her 45-year-old father Balakrishnan, a daily wager, was penniless – like many affected by the Coronavirus lockdown. Moreover, he was not able to work since he fell sick: “She had been telling us to repair the television so she could attend the online class. But we had no money to repair the television and we have no smartphone”. 

The charred remains of Devika Balakrishnan, were found in front of an unoccupied house in her neighborhood.

Education Minister Prof. C. Raveendranath stated: “We have conducted a survey about facilities at the homes of students and introduced neighborhood classrooms for poor students who have no television or smartphones. We have launched the online classes on an experimental basis and will be re-telecasting all classes again and again. But it was unfortunate that the girl committed suicide.” 

Cynics go haywire wondering though the state government had directed all local self-government bodies to set up neighborhood classrooms with televisions for poor students who have no television or smartphones at home, why the child committed suicide? Probably the information was not propagated enough or there was a lack of implementation that led to the death of a depressed pupil!

It is pertinent to mention here that like many countries in the world, schools in Indo-Pak Subcontinent  too were closed to contain the spread of COVID-19. In Pakistan educational institutions are still closed. Few have started online classes but not so well-off pupils lacking the wi-fi, smart phone and laptop, are not attending these classes. This scribe hopes no tragedy will occur here due to frustration!

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