Sohinee Ghosh

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected education in innumerable ways, leading to the advancement in the school dropout rate in India. The increase in unemployment since the pandemic has driven parents to prioritise survival instead of education. 

Moreover, the digital divide and loss of learning continuity have further inflated the access to quality education, demotivating the children. Approximately 15 crore children are currently out of the education system. 

Around 10 million girl students are at risk of dropping out. These dropout rates of girl students rose since the pandemic hit India. However, most of them are engaged in domestic work, while the rest of them are married off. Since 2020, the disruption in continuous schooling has taken a toll on education. 

The demand for online classes presented itself during the pandemic which required access to electronic devices. Many girls had to give up their education due to the shift to the digital mode of learning since, most households have access to only one smartphone, predominantly used by a male member, leaving the girls inaccessible to their online classes. 

Hence, the government should step up during these tumultuous times and help these children in need. Schemes and educational funds should be implemented to encourage girls to go back to schools. In fact the private sector should also shoulder the responsibility of educating the female youth of India considering the alarming dropout rates since COVID-19 pandemic.