Matías, Iker, Emiliano, Laura and Diego have something in common: they are digitally fatigued and eager to return to face-to-face classes, however, from their trenches they have differences that in the medium term will become more evident and that the return to face-to-face classes only will decrease.
Laura González, a history teacher at a secondary school in the Santa Úrsula Coapa neighborhood, is very clear:
“Initially we started with 88 students, but right now we have constant contact with approximately 50, intermittent contact with about 15 more students and we lost contact with the rest, that is, 15 students, although we have made the effort to contact them in recent weeks, only some have Having said that they will attend face-to-face classes ”.
The reasons that they have identified in the high school where Laura González works are varied, and range from the lack of economic and technological resources, to the loss of family members, which has caused several of these young people to have to look for a job to support themselves.
“Before it was important that they finish high school, but now with the economic outlook that exists, the ideal is that they have more tools and protection to be able to finish their studies, but it is seen as a situation that will be more difficult to achieve due to the lack of resources. ”, González points out.
According to data from the Survey for the measurement of the impact of COVID-19 on education (ECOVID-ED), from INEGI, it stands out that of the 33.6 million people between 3 and 29 years old enrolled in the last school year, 5.2 million did not enrolled in the current one and 738,400 did not complete it, of which 58.9% were for some reason related to the epidemic, 8.9% due to lack of resources and 6.7% due to having to work.
Prioritize who can continue studying
And although the enthusiasm for going back to school exists between Matías, Iker or Emiliano, the reality is that many children have a similar panorama to that of Ximena and Diego, where the concern for the hybrid model is in the lack of necessary resources and in a poor internet connection, with classes that last many hours and where school performance is uncertain.
“We had to decide that Ximena will leave school because we could not be with the two children working at home, besides Diego is already in primary school and we prefer that he continue studying. Now that they return to school, we are waiting for them to give us the list of supplies to know if we are going to have to buy a computer or at least a cell phone, because what they tell us at school is that the return will be gradual and will be combined with online classes ”, Alma A., mother of Diego and Ximena, aged 6 and 4, tells Expansión.
However, despite the fact that there is more certainty about returning to face-to-face classes, Alma is concerned about the little academic progress she has seen in her son, feeling that although he has attended his classes online, he is paying less and less attention.
“I think he is tired of the remote classes by now, it is becoming more and more difficult to convince him to take the class and he has become more rebellious. I am also concerned about the case of Ximena, because she lost the whole year, and although in a way she takes classes with her brother, I feel that she has not had a good follow-up ”, says Alma.
The situation that exists with this pair of brothers, around the fatigue they have, is very similar to what Matías and Iker suffer.
“Well, every day except Thursday I’m with three teachers, on Thursday I’m with two and he took classes on my computer, but I already want to go back to classes, because I don’t like taking classes online, they bore me a lot,” said Matías, a Six-year-old boy who is in the first year of primary school and who takes classes from Monday to Friday from 8 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon.
Although Álvaro, Matías’s father, says that within the return to classes the school will be able to provide the students with technological equipment, within the Matías home, the child has his own computer equipment, so that he can be fully at school , while their parents work.
Iker, for his part, has had a different panorama, since his classes are for fewer hours and for a few months he has been in contact with a tutor who has helped him catch up on his classes, however, like Matías, he is also enthusiastic about go back to school.
“The relationship with technology in entertainment matters has been much closer, but with the school, until now that the tutor is there, there has really been an advance in their learning,” commented Isabel, Iker’s mother.
For every 10 students who were in school when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, one did not enroll in the 2020-2021 school year for reasons directly associated with health situations or lack of resources, the National Institute of Geography and Statistics cited. (INEGI).
This means that of the total of 5.2 million students who left the classrooms, 26.6% did so because their families consider that distance classes are not very functional for learning; 25.3% did so because one of their parents or guardians was left without work and 21.9% reported not registering due to lack of a computer or other electronic device or having an internet connection.
“Many of my classmates take up to two hours to get to an internet cafe to take the classes we have. That is why we only have two days of online class and the other days are for homework, but many of the teachers have had to be understanding with my classmates, because some really cannot enter classes due to lack of resources, “he says. Emiliano, a 16-year-old boy who is in his first year of high school at the Autonomous University of Chapingo.
Digital education, a business that exists but for few
A study carried out by Deloitte on the habits that were acquired in the COVID-19 pandemic indicates that 14% of Mexican households bought a laptop, while 17% bought a smartphone and 15% decided to buy a new television to be able to work or study remotely.
A report by the firm Canalys indicates that in 2020, 297 million laptops and desktops were shipped worldwide, with Lenovo leading the market with 25.6% of the market. However, in Mexico, the reality that many basic education students live is different from what happens in other parts of the world.
“Last week, which was the first day of school, out of 20 students that we had engaged to attend, only 7 arrived, and although we looked for the students again, only 8 more students confirmed, this in third grade. I know that in the first year they have higher numbers, in fact I know that they gathered the 15 students who were waiting and are waiting for 5 more, while in the second year the average is 15 more students. Although the community for the three grades was just over 200, right now only 25 returned to classes, “said Laura González.
For his part, Carlos Lieja, country head of Byju’s, an educational platform that focuses on teaching math and programming classes, indicates that although the digital divide exists, for some students the hybrid format will be a factor that will help them in their education. .
“Many students will have classes in a hybrid way and will be able to focus on having classes in the subjects they like the most, which will reinforce topics that they may not see in their grade level. Although it is a reality that there is an important digital divide, for many the fear of technology has been removed and that is positive, ”Liège said.
Although the opportunities that digital education opens up are proven, on a national scale, the digital divide that existed before the pandemic has left 5.2 million children and young people without school.
