"Hartal (Strike) Happens Here Everyday": Understanding Impact of Disruption on Education in Kashmir

Literature Title

“Hartal (Strike) Happens Here Everyday”: Understanding Impact of Disruption on Education in Kashmir

Bibliographic Information

• Field of Study: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Educational Technology, Crisis Informatics
• Keywords: disruption, conflict, technology, education, culture, trust and uncertainty, internet shutdowns, Kashmir, India

Research Background and Problem

• Identified Issues or Challenges:

  • Educational activities in conflict zones are severely disrupted, including school closures, exam cancellations, curriculum interruptions, and rising dropout rates.
  • The education system in Kashmir has faced significant setbacks due to prolonged socio-political instability since 1990, with approximately 60% of school working days lost annually.
  • Internet shutdowns and communication disruptions exacerbate the education crisis, such as the 2019 internet blockade that left approximately 1.5 million students out of school for 202 days.
  • Parents and communities, due to a lack of trust and fear of interference from extreme political or military organizations, are unable to ensure normal education for their children.

• Significance:

  • Education is a core component of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG4), which aims to achieve inclusive and equitable quality education. However, education issues in conflict zones are often overlooked.
  • There is a lack of in-depth research on designing educational technologies in conflict contexts.

• Research Motivation and Related Work:

  • Current research on educational technology primarily focuses on resource-constrained areas or disaster informatics, with limited attention to the impact of conflict on education.
  • The authors aim to bridge the research gap between education in conflict zones and technology design.

Solution

• Proposed Methods or Solutions:

  • Collaborating with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to establish Community Learning Centers (CLCs) as an "alternative" education model to support children's education during conflict periods.
  • Leveraging local resources and manpower to support education, using technology as a supplementary tool rather than a necessity.
  • Providing communication means, such as teleconferencing, for students without access to devices.

• Innovative Aspects:

  • Building human-technology infrastructure to facilitate the delivery of educational content in low-connectivity environments.
  • Proposing the integration of "uncertainty" into the educational technology design framework to address ongoing technological disruptions.
  • Emphasizing the design of trust-building technological solutions, particularly in conflict zones.

• Implementation Steps and Techniques:

  • Recruiting local teachers and providing paper-based learning materials during severe conflict situations.
  • Designing community-based video libraries and offline content access platforms.
  • Using smartphones' "caching functionality" and "lightweight modes" to address internet disconnection issues.
  • Creating an online content repository for students and teachers, offering localized versions of educational materials.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Results:

  • Community Learning Centers effectively mitigated the impact of educational disruptions, enabling students to continue learning.
  • Parents and communities gained confidence in education due to the positive impact of the CLC project.

• Advantages:

  • Compared to traditional education, CLCs provided more personalized relationships between mentors and students.
  • Established a community-based support system for sharing devices and resources.
  • Proposed a design methodology tailored to conflict contexts, offering guidance for future design efforts.

• Experimental or Evaluation Results:

  • Students at CLCs demonstrated significant learning progress, even compensating for foundational educational gaps (e.g., notable improvements in basic math skills).
  • Although technology usage was limited, it improved communication and access to educational materials.

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  1. Feedback from teachers and students within the formal education system was not collected; future research should include broader coverage.
  2. The study focused on primary education; it is recommended to expand research to secondary and higher education contexts.
  3. Advocates for designing more inclusive and gender-sensitive technological solutions to address barriers caused by gender discrimination in educational technology usage.
  4. Suggests exploring collaborations with local schools and other stakeholders to achieve long-term sustainable solutions.

This study analyzes the educational challenges and solutions in Kashmir, providing important theoretical and practical support for designing educational technologies in conflict contexts. It also offers pragmatic and actionable recommendations for policymakers and technology designers.