1 Old Phone, 3 Siblings: Delhi Gardener's Children Take Turns For Classes

Farhana, 35, a single mother lives in the dingy lanes of a slum in Delhi's Trilokpuri with her sons - Sameer, 9, and Shoaib, 13. They used to study at a Delhi government school. But for five months they have not attended a single online class because the family cannot afford even a basic phone, let alone a smartphone.

"It's troubling. If our kids don't study what kind of a future will they have? This is what I am worried about and over which I have sleepless nights. I fear that my kids may end up illiterate like me. I am not educated but I understand how important studies are today," Farhana told NDTV.

She has been working as a tailor since she lost her husband three years ago and barely earns Rs 4,000 a month.

Farhana's children are among the 15 per cent or two lakh students that Delhi government says have become "untraceable" since the coronavirus lockdown began. They neither attend online classes nor have been in touch with their schools.

A total of 15 lakh students study in Delhi government's 1,100 schools. Online classes began for them from April 6. Since then apart from live video classes, e-learning material is sent to students via WhatsApp or SMS.

Sheela with her three children in their house in Delhi

Aarti, 14, lives in a small one-room home with six other family members. There is only one old phone in the house, which is taken away by her father when he is out working as a gardener all day.

The few hours when the phone is at home, she has to share it with her two younger siblings, one 13 years old and the other 12.

"There is so much work on Science, Maths, Social Studies. By the time I finish my studies, my sister misses her classes and then she gets scolded by her teacher for not finishing her work. When she catches up, by then my brother misses his class and he gets scolded too," said Aarti.

Her mother, 40-year-old Sheela, lost her job as a sanitation worker at a private school since the lockdown started. She used to earn Rs 3,000 a month. Her husband makes Rs 8,000 a month as a gardener. But with the lockdown, they didn't even have enough to eat, buying another phone was not an option.

"I lost my job and my husband was ill, so where would we get the money from? We would survive on the little government rations we would get. But when even that wasn't possible I would just make a chutney and that is what we all ate," Sheela said.

The Delhi government said the School Management Committees have been directed to locate these students and bring them back into the system. The government has also provided a subsidy of Rs 200 for internet packages to all its Class 12 students.

Saurabh Sharma, founder member of "Josh", a not-for-profit organisation that works in the field of education across the slums of Delhi's Trilokpuri, said, "The government talks about taking everything online and assumes that everybody has a phone and all of them can be put under the same umbrella. There has to be a deeper understanding of the ground reality. The ability of different families will vary based on their economic status. Without that understanding, children will continue to struggle."