Lockdown hit income of 80% families: Survey

Lockdown has impacted the income of 80% families, mostly single-income, reducing it by more than 50% in 40.8% cases and less than 50% in 39.9%, according to a month-long survey of around 23,000 students spread across Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Navi Mumbai, Palghar, Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri.

Conducted by the Bombay University and College Teachers’ Union (BUCTU), the idea was to understand how the lockdown affected students’ lives, especially as regular classes are being conducted online since the first week of September. “The survey was conducted in July 2020, before online classes were to begin. Through the survey, we wanted to find out if the students were prepared for this change in education pattern. The University of Mumbai had conducted no such survey before asking all colleges to start online classes in September,” stated the report.

According to the survey, 80% of the respondents have only one earning member in the family. While in Sindhudurg and Palghar districts, 82% reported loss of income during the lockdown, the numbers in Ratnagiri, Raigad and Mumbai stand at 78.8%, 76.5% and 75%, respectively.

Students were also asked if the loss in monthly income will affect their ability to pay fees for the 2020-21 academic year and almost 27.5% students said they will be in no position to pay the annual college fees. Another 27.9% said they would need the option of paying the fees in instalments as paying a lump sum amount in fees would be impossible at present. “In the previous academic year, 71.3% of the same respondents had managed to pay their annual fees in lumpsum, whereas 28% had paid their fees in instalments. Family income during lockdown is the sole reason for this change,” stated the survey report.

“Due to the pandemic, the entire survey was conducted by asking students to fill Google forms. This limited our sample size as we couldn’t reach out to many students in the tribal areas. That itself shows how some students are being deprived of education due to accessibility issues,” said Madhu Paranjape, general secretary, BUCTU, who co-authored this report along with Tapati Mukhopadhyay, president of Maharashtra Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisation (MFUCTO).

The survey also found out the devices used by students to participate in online lectures and shows that almost 95% students own mobile phones. It further shows that nearly 63.1% have access to internet via mobile data and 16.2% through WiFi at home. A small portion of the respondents have access to cybercafes in case they don’t have the option of a mobile phone or laptop/desktop.

The survey also showed that almost 95% students own mobile phones, 63.1% have access to internet via mobile data and 16.2% through WiFi at home. A total of 14% students said they have access to mobile internet as well as WiFi connection. A small portion of the respondents have access to cybercafes in case they don’t have the option of a mobile phone or laptop/desktop.

When asked about their ability to switch over to online mode for a longer period, almost 40% students said it would be impossible to do so either due to affordability issues (6.8%) or due to irregular network and electricity trouble (33%). Another 21% said they find the physical class mode more effective in comparison to the online mode, while 39.1% respondents said they found the online classes very effective.

BUCTU hopes to share this survey with the state government and demand monetary compensation for students. “The more this lockdown extends, higher are the chances of students dropping out of higher education. Students are already worried about paying their fees for the current academic year and if the government doesn’t make arrangements to avoid such problems, too many students will suffer,” said Tapati Mukhopadhyay.

“Online education, in the current scenario, is the only option to ensure education is not stalled. That said, the role of the government in ensuring that each student is following online education is something that can’t be ignored,” said SS Mantha, former director of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). He added that while calling for sudden change from physical classrooms to virtual education, the government should have studied the change better before implementing it haphazardly. “The government can easily invest in a service provider and make online education subsidised for students across the state, which will ensure the monetary burden doesn’t fall on colleges or students and also bring uniformity in teaching across colleges,” he said. “Most classes are monologues wherein students have no option of interacting in the middle of the class and research has shown how students can be attentive only for a limited time in virtual classrooms. We need a change in online teaching pedagogy if we want online classes to work.”