India, Dec. 23 -- Last week, Prem Singh, a social worker, was forced to abandon an official trip and rush back home from Bihar after the Delhi government announced that schools for children up to Class 5 will run fully online.

The reason: His is the only phone number registered with the government senior secondary school where his daughter studies in Class 3. Now, the father and daughter have a new routine - every morning, they walk 500 metres to a relative's house in west Delhi's Basai Darapur which has an internet connection.

"She studies in a Delhi government school close to our house. We don't have Wi-Fi," Singh said.

From sitting in a classroom with her fellow students, seven-year-old Pranshi's school-day has now transformed into ...