Kerala girl Commits Suicide, she had no TV,Internet to attend online class

It was a tragic start for the Kerala government’s online class room endeavor as one of the class 10 students committed suicide on Monday by setting herself on fire in states’s Malappuram district as she had no facilities to attend the class.

Reportedly from a Scheduled Caste background the young girl’s family has alleged she was disappointed by not being able to access classes online.

“There is a television at home but that has not been working. She told me it needed to be repaired but I couldn’t get it done,” the girl’s father, who is a daily wager with little income during the ongoing coronavirus lockdown, told reporters.

“I don’t know why she did this. I said we could look at options, like going to a friend’s house,” he said.

The young girl’s mother had given birth only a few weeks ago.

“The family was financially very strained and the girl was worried she would not be able to study further, or that her studies would be affected. Initial reports suggest she was upset about not having access to the TV or online classes since they started,” a senior policy official said, reports NDTV.

Kerala Education Minister C Raveendranath has sought a report from district-level education officials on this tragic incident.

Against the background of coronavirus induced lockdown the southern state of India has begun its academic year on June 1 via online classes called “First Bell” that are telecast on the Victers Channel. A detailed timetable was handed to all students from Class 1 to 12.

However, opposition parties alleged that the mission has started without adequate preparation as an estimated 2.5 lakh students in the state don’t have access to either Television or devices that can access the internet.

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