Even as live streaming of Classes-I to III in YouTube kicked off from Monday in selected districts of the State in the first phase, several organisations and teachers’ associations opposed the Government decision saying that the internet is not available in all places. The Samjawadi Party stated that mobile phone services are not available in at least 10,000 villages in the State. While telephone services have reached 87 people out of 100 in the country, it is available for only 77 people in Odisha, pointed out party State president Rabi Behera in a statement.
Quoting the Mass Education Minister of the State as having stated in the State Assembly that cell phone is not with 54 per cent of students, Behera questioned as to how all of them would learn from YouTube. He demanded that like farmers, the Government distribute smart mobile phones and laptops to the students so that they can learn through digital medium.