Paris: India's school closures and its children's lack of smartphone and internet facilities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic have worsened an educational divide, the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO said, flagging risks to young people's futures.
About 248 million students were hit by school closures since March last year, UNESCO said in a report, though many Indian states have started easing curbs as infections dwindled and vaccinations rose in the last two months.
Nearly 70 percent of students lacked smartphones or other devices to access classes online, while a majority grappled with poor Internet facilities, or none, especially in rural areas, it added.
Almost 40 percent of parents could not afford internet costs, affecting learning, and so widening the educational gap between different parts of society, the report said.
