Malkangiri: Believe it or not, students of Materu High School under Padia block in this district had to walk for four km to appear their examination under a tree in a forest on the fringes of Chhattisgarh due to lack of internet connectivity in their area, a report said.
The incident has exposed the soft underbelly of online education and sparked shockwaves in the area.
The case in point is students of Government High School in Materu under Padia block have to walk to a place that is 4 kilometres away to get mobile phone signal to appear Utkarsh examination amid bushes which is a forest on the borders of Chhattisgarh.
The students accompanied by their teachers arrived at the place and accessed internet connectivity by getting mobile phone signal from neighbouring Chhattisgarh through roaming.
The students from Materu panchayat under Padia block of Malkangiri district said they were in pain after walking for four kilometres. Moreover, as the area is densely forested the fear of attack by reptiles and wild animals also haunts them while frequent unseasonal rainfall is also a problem.