Manipur, July 6 -- Although the state government has made efforts to provide online education to students so that their academic career is not affected by the prevailing pandemic, getting access to online classes has posed another challenge, particularly to the poor sections of the state.

"The facilities introduced for online classes during the pandemic are unavailable to most of the students belonging to economically backward families as they cannot afford to own a smartphone," said a mother of a student who is currently pursuing seventh grade in a government school in Imphal East. The mother, a street vendor, works as the sole bread earner of the family.

Speaking to the Imphal Free Press, she said, "I also want to buy a smartphone for...