More than 60,000 school students across the city are still unable to attend online classes, according to the data shared by the education department of the BMC. There are 1,700 more students who have not been traced since the physical classes stopped following the COVID-19 lockdown in March. The data includes information from a total of 2,387 civic, government-aided, unaided and private schools, where over 6.5 lakh students are enrolled.

Of the 60,000-plus students cut off from online classes, 37,213 don’t have a smartphone or a computer, while 20,367 lack internet access. The BMC’s education department is implementing novel ways to connect with children without access to online learning with the help of palakmitra and shikshakmitra, who are volunteering teachers and parents, and NGOs. “We are constantly collating data to ensure children’s learning is not disrupted by the pandemic restrictions. With the current conditions, the focus is to connect with maximum number of students in whichever way possible,” said Mahesh Palkar, education officer at the BMC.