This paper will explore the multifaceted challenges that the Indian public education system is being faced with as a result of schools closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and will approach it from a human rights perspective. It will analyse the steps being taken by the government in public education during the pandemic, the obligations of the state under the right to education, as a party to the ICESCR, in terms of prioritising the right to education in its efforts to tackle the challenges of the pandemic. Lastly, it will explore how the divide between the rich and poor in India is being exacerbated by the shift to online and digital modes of teaching, focusing on groups that have been hit the hardest.

By: Tara Adiga

Published on February 22, 2021