With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the mode of education has changed dramatically worldwide with classes being held online. Yet there are billions who do not have the luxury to buy a phone, tablet, or laptop to facilitate this.
In a similar incident, a domestic help’s son in Chennai was caught by the Police for stealing a smartphone. He was lucky for the Police rather understood the backdrop of his act and gifted a smartphone to him instead of locking him up.
The teenager who studies at a municipal corporation school was compelled to take the step following desperation of attending online classes. While his mother works as a help, father works at a local shop. Thus, poverty stood as a barrier between his education as his parents could not afford to buy a smartphone.
As per police reports, the boy committed the act under the influence of two other boys from the same impoverished neighborhood. They lured the teenager and used him as a bait to steal a mobile phone. With no smartphone, the 13-year-old used to loiter around during online class hours. This was noticed by the other two boys. They grabbed the opportunity and gave him the idea of stealing a smartphone so that he no more had to miss school.
Chennai Police tracked the boy down and caught him. The phone reportedly belonged to a truck driver in Thiruvottiyur.
The act of stealing turned into an act of benevolence after the police inspector S. Bhuvaneshwari heard the boy’s need for a smartphone in order to continue with his education. The inspector immediately decided to buy the boy a smartphone with the money she had set aside to buy a phone for her own daughter. Soon after, the boy was released after warning.
“This is a small gesture from my side. After hearing his tale, I thought penalizing him would turn the life of the misguided youth upside down,” the inspector said to Times of India.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu School Education Department has quoted that the school administration cannot evaluate students on basis of their attendance for online classes.