COVID-19, Internet and Education: Loss of a Generation

Various international instruments and municipal laws have reiterated the importance of education as a basic human right in itself as well as a means to achieve other human rights. The Internet is the most useful tool that has revolutionized the entire system of education. All across the globe, the internet serves as a basic medium of sharing knowledge and research. In Jammu & Kashmir, however, we see a completely contrasting situation as it leads India's internet shutdown statistics. The article aims to analyze the impact of the 7 months long lockdown and internet suspension in the region after the revocation of J&K's constitution, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, on the education of children in the region. Being the longest internet shutdown in the history of any democracy, this paper elucidates how the shutdown left millions of students in J&K without access to their fundamental right to education during this digital lockdown. The paper first analyzes the importance of and the right to education, as well as the role of the internet on education. It then moves on to discuss the 7-month long internet shutdown in the valley of Kashmir and mentions interviews to elucidate the human impact of such shutdown on education. The paper finally discusses the multi-fold impact of the internet shutdown on education in general and the life of students in particular.