Breaking Barriers: How Smartphones Are Helping Eradicate Illiteracy

*The digital revolution is far more significant than the invention of writing or even of printing. (Douglas Engel Bart)

*In this digital age, we have an opportunity to transform the lives of people in ways that were hard to imagine just a couple of decades ago. (Prime-minister Narendra Modi at Silicon Valley on 26th September 2015)

A GIRL WITH A SMARTPHONE AND THE NEW DIGITAL AGE.

How I Became a Witness to India’s Remarkable Journey of Progress

Ramnagar, a well-known place near Varanasi, is famous for being the home of India’s former Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Whenever I pass through Ramnagar, I always stop at a tea shop, a habit I’ve kept for many years. The owner of this small shop is 74-year-old Ram Lal Ji.

Despite having very little formal schooling, he is cheerful, sociable, and well-versed in the history of Varanasi (also known as Banaras).

He once shared with me that he left school as a child because he wasn’t interested in it, but his love for reading novels helped him educate himself and gain knowledge.

Due to the Corona pandemic, I was unable to visit for several months. When I finally stopped a young boy was sitting at the tea shop.

He told me that Ram Lal Ji had rented out the tea shop and was now working at a nearby grocery store. I decided to walk to the grocery store to meet him. When I found Ram Lal Ji, he smiled and greeted me, though he looked a little weak. I commented, “You seem weak,” to which he quickly replied, “I am old, not weak.”

Ram Lal Ji shared with me that his only wish was for his granddaughter to receive a good education and become self-sufficient. I was already familiar with his family.

One of his two sons is alive and lives in Gujarat, while his other son passed away years ago. His deceased son’s wife and daughter now live with him.

When I asked about renting out his tea shop, he explained that the rent would provide some income and that working at the grocery store would bring in more.

He mentioned how the Corona lockdown had been tough, but it had brought a silver lining. “Corona has an advantage.” This statement made me curious about how the pandemic could have been beneficial.

He said, smiling, “A large part of my earnings had to be spent on coaching and tuition for my granddaughter, but that will no longer be the case.”

I asked him how that was possible. Ram Lal Ji explained that tuition and coaching were unavailable due to the Corona lockdown, but during this time, his granddaughter developed a habit of studying on her own. He explained that with easy access to online lectures by eminent scholars, she could learn about any subject conveniently.

Now that things were returning to normal, he said, there was no need for tuition or coaching anymore.

I understood his point clearly: he wanted to emphasize that mobile phones (especially smartphones) are incredibly useful tools, but more so for the younger generation.

I have seen firsthand how education is being democratized through mobile phones.

A used smartphone, which typically costs around Rs 4000, is now a tool that can change people’s lives. With this small investment, there’s no longer a need to travel to big cities to prepare for various competitive examinations.

This gap can now be bridged with just a little willpower and access to resources. The ability to learn from online courses, lectures, and educational platforms means that even students in remote areas can pursue their dreams and get the same opportunities as those in larger cities. It’s truly a game-changer for education in India.

Understanding the future of digitalization is hard and difficult for a common person like me to fully grasp. However, I can see signs of a change that could help remove societal inequality. It seems that digitalization can play a big role in making things fairer for everyone