Children and college-goers return to offline classes after the pandemic sees a downward surge, yet education remains excluded to the nation's minorities and marginalised as polarising politics takes freedom of religion, expression, and dressing head-on. Also, the world ponders intervening as another war hits Europe - and here too, Indian students are stuck - waiting to be evacuated from Ukraine to come home safe and sound. Read more in this chapter of TypeRight

One of the most notable changes in the past week has to do with a change in education unseen in the last two years. Since schools, colleges and most institutions closed in March 2020 in India after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, February 2022 marks a near pan-country return to classes and modes of teaching that are not relegated to the screens and online meetings.

While there had been staggered attempts by different states during different stages of the pandemic in the last two years, this month was markedly different.

After more than 600 days shut out, Delhi's students just want to go back to school

Schools in India's capital have been largely shut since March 2020 due to Covid-19, leading to concerns the closures could increase poverty, reduce earning capacity, and result in mental and physical stress to millions.

cnn.com

Kerala schools to commence offline classes from Monday. Details here

The decision was taken at the Covid review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan

livemint.com

DU to resume all offline classes from Feb 17 | India News - Times of India

India News: NEW DELHI: After a gap of nearly two years, Delhi University (DU) will resume offline classes for all batches from February 17.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

West Bengal: Class 1-7 students to return to school after two years

As per a notification issued by the state government, all Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) centres will also reopen from Wednesday. "A separate standard operating procedure will be issued by the School Education Department in this regard," stated the notification.

indianexpress.com

The supreme court dismissed a plea asking for a cancellation of the offline board exams for secondary and higher secondary students:

CBSE, CISCE Exams Updates: Supreme Court Refuses To Cancel Offline Board Exams For Class 10, 12

Cancel Board Exams 2022 LIVE: The bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar heard the plea. Supreme Court refused to entertain plea to cancel offline board exams for Class 10, 12.

ndtv.com

These two years had certainly impacted education across the world, and India particularly, seeing dropout rates as high as 17% due to uneven access to internet and technology, excluding the most marginalised people.

How Covid-19 has forced the dropout rate to shoot up in India and what we can do

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected education in a number of ways, especially leading to the rise in the school dropout rate in India. Know more about what we can do about it now.

indiatoday.in

The new hybrid mode is not much of a help either:

It is in between this state of education that the country is facing post covid, that the government, and the allies of those in power are also trying to fuel a communal fire that seems to be excluding even more people. Journalists and other experts have opined that the issue is possibly a flare-up to polarise people for the elections that have just been concluded in UP, and more elections which are set to happen in Karnataka next year.

The hijab is just an excuse to deny Muslims education

The Hindu students and their backers in Hindutva organisations who have threatened to disrupt law and order in the state over the hijab issue are not the focus of police investigations. The heat is instead on the leaders of the Campus Front of India (CFI) because they rallied support for the Muslim girls in Udupi who refused to remove their hijab inside the classroom. Intelligence officers have painted a frightening picture of the CFI in their off-record briefings to journalists, describing its leaders as ‘radicals’ and ‘fundamentalists’ who have plotted to disrupt the peace of the state.

thenewsminute.com

There are many perspectives on the issue of the hijab- as some people take to 'feminist' arguments to justify the ban. But the central argument remains how one's choice to religion and clothing is also, in fact, a feminist stance. Religion and feminism needn't be mutually exclusive.

This is another interesting piece on how assertion of one's religion, and one's agency is seemingly a problem for a majoritarian or white audience. This is one instance to remember how back in the early 2000s, the US invasion of Afghanistan was also justified as a feminist cause, of women needing rescuing.

Afghanistan: the west needs to stop seeing women as in need of 'saving'

The age-old idea that Afghan women need rescuing from their men is a western construct that ignores the voices of Afghan women.

theconversation.com

In these times, it is also interesting to look into two states bordering Karnataka where the governments have taken a clear stance on the issue:

Kerala minister shares pic of students wearing hijab at CM event, says 'our pride'

A picture of six schoolgirls wearing hijabs and folding their hands singing a prayer song at the podium in their school in the presence of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and three other ministers was widely shared on social media on February 10, Thursday. The girls were singing "Ammaykkum Achanum Aadhyam Pranamam, Acharyanmarkkum koodi Pranamam - a prayer song during the programme to inaugurate new building at the Poovachal Government Vocational Higher Secondary School at Thiruvananthapuram.

thenewsminute.com

Also, read this piece on the Economic and Political Weekly by Sundar Sarukkai from IISc Bangalore, where he underlines how multiplicities and diversities should not be left to be just the display pieces on Republic Day parades:

Last month, the MEITY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) had released a consultation paper on the newly proposed India Digital Ecosystem Architecture, or the InDEA 2.0. The consultation paper is large, at a length of 98 pages, and they have asked for comments by the public latest by the 27th of February. Now, while it isn't new for the government to ask a short period for the people to react on crucial bills (EIA Amendment in 2020, for example), the rather technical nature of the document doesn't make it easier. Our friends at the Internet Freedom Foundation have shortened the large document into a nine-page summary and it can be found here.

Summary of India Digital Ecosystem Architecture (InDEA) 2.0

In this post, we have presented a non-opinionated summary of MeitY's InDEA 2.0 paper, focussing on the data-rights-centric parts of the document. Through this summary, we hope to better inform public awareness and increase public participation on the issue.

internetfreedom.in

Comments on the same can be sent to Dr. Ajai Kumar, Sr. Director, CDAC Pune & Member Convener of the WG at ajai@cdac.in

As Europe sees war with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Indian Media has rather interesting takes on the issue. Compiling some of them, as this Twitter user notes:

In the first invasion of a European nation since the second world war, the country's inhabitants are trying to escape. Over 15,000 Indian students are stranded in Ukraine, says reports. Students had to take to social media to highlight the plight they were facing and coordinate relief and evacuation efforts.

Indian students stranded in Ukraine post SOS calls on social media

India has said it was sending ministers to Ukraine 's neighbouring countries.

qz.com

No food, water or supplies: Indian students in Ukraine hostels seek help

While fear is writ large on the faces of some, many others look worn out and numb. Stuck in hostel rooms and bunkers for days on end, Indian students in various parts of Ukraine have been posting videos, detailing the situation they are in, with pleas for immediate help. With bombs going off short distances away, the students move between corners of their hostels, finding the safest spot for a while. In videos, they ask for help to get out of there, to open the borders, to arrange for their safe travel home.

thenewsminute.com

Several articles point out as to why there are so much Indian students in ex-soviet countries like Ukraine:

Explained: Why eastern Europe is popular with Indian medical students

All those who graduate from foreign medical education institutions are required to take a licentiate exam before they can practice medicine or pursue higher medical education in India. The test, called Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE), has a very low pass percentage.

indianexpress.com

Let's not also forget the role Ukraine, or its various innovators play in our everyday lives:

But of course, this shouldn't be any reason to oppose a foreign invasion on autonomous territory. The famous hacker group, who gained popularity during the 2008 Occupy Wall Street Protests are back again with messages on Ukraine:

Anonymous: the hacker collective that has declared cyberwar on Russia

The group has claimed credit for hacking the Russian Ministry of Defence database, and is believed to have hacked multiple state TV channels to show pro-Ukraine content

theguardian.com

Now, while the international media is- and rightfully so- focusing on Ukraine, and pondering sanctions, there is no end to conflict in other parts of the global south, as this twitter user notes.

Why conflict ravaged Middle East empathises with people fleeing Ukraine following Russian assault

More than 5.6 million Syrian refugees remain in the Middle East, most of them in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan

nytimes.com

Follow this thread for more pieces of International coverage on Ukraine that highlighted how the western, global north media still views conflicts differently, and how racism and eurocentrism is quite deep-rooted:

Keeping track of the Pegasus hacking row, this piece from Reuters explains how we got to know of the NSO group's dealings:

How a Saudi woman's iPhone revealed hacking around the world

A single activist helped turn the tide against NSO Group, one of the world’s most sophisticated spyware companies now facing a cascade of legal action and scrutiny in Washington over damaging new allegations that its software was used to hack government officials and dissidents around the world.

reuters.com

DEF Updates

Partnering with the Canadian High Commission, DEF's Delhi team visited an innovative science exhibition in Haryana conducted by DEF's STEM students:

Teaming with Accenture, we also connected several volunteers to disconnected students:

And as always, our foot soldiers are relentlessly working to educate the people on covid appropriate behaviour, and the importance of vaccines and masks.

And finally, here is a story from Karnataka on how DEF's work is ensuring the marginalised are empowered through digital inclusion:

We are sorry for the delay last week, but we promise you we'll be back again on time next week and keep updating on all that's digital!