{"id":2073,"date":"2021-07-12T14:15:39","date_gmt":"2021-07-12T14:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/?p=2073"},"modified":"2021-07-14T14:36:34","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T14:36:34","slug":"in-sri-lanka-a-dangerous-climb-for-online-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southasiantimes.com.au\/?p=2073","title":{"rendered":"In Sri Lanka, a dangerous climb for online school"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Getting online school lessons for residents of a remote Sri Lankan village requires a trek through dense bushes sometimes visited by leopards and elephants.<\/p>\n

The teachers and about 45 schoolchildren in Bohitiwaya then climb more than 3 kilometers (2 miles) to the top of a rock to find an internet signal.<\/p>\n

Information technology teacher Nimali Anuruddhika uses the signal to upload lessons for her students who haven\u2019t been able to go to school because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The students who also live in the village make the same climb to download online lessons sent to them by their teachers.<\/p>\n

Not all have mobile devices or laptops, with four or five children sharing one device.<\/p>\n

Their parents, most of whom are farmers, often accompany their children. H.M. Pathmini Kumari, who accompanies his sixth-grade son, said the children climb the rock twice a day and their safety is a big concern for parents.<\/p>\n

The village in the central-eastern part of the island country lacks basic amenities, and its children had been studying in a government school, now closed, that is about 16 kilometers (10 miles) away.<\/p>\n

In the village of Lunugala, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) away, adults escort schoolchildren to a mountaintop treehouse in a forest reserve. It\u2019s about 10 meters (30 feet) high and has internet access. They take turns uploading their homework and downloading lesson plans.<\/p>\n

Schools in Sri Lanka have been closed for the most part since March 2020.<\/p>\n

Authorities say they make every effort to provide all children access to education, but Joseph Stalin, who heads the Ceylon Teachers\u2019 Union, says at most 40% of the country\u2019s 4.3 million students can participate in online classes. The majority lack access to devices or connectivity.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s government on Monday began a campaign to vaccinate all teachers with a view to reopening schools soon.<\/p>\n

Source: AP, Al jazeera<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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