Pandemic, EAD and education in the countryside: the struggle of rural youth for free access to education

Felicia Panta
Young Multiplier of Agroecology and student of Biological Sciences at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE)

With the advancement of the pandemic and the stoppage of face-to-face activities, distance education has established itself as a way to continue teaching. However, in these two years, some challenges still persist for this form of teaching to reach those who are in the countryside in a democratic way.

Data from ICT Households show that at least 46 million Brazilians do not have access to the internet, the value of packages and the lack of devices that make the connection are the factors that most contribute to this high number. Looking at the countryside, at least 47% of families do not have access to networks.

Based on this premise, it is notable the difficulties that young rural students find to participate in classes and have access to materials. The distance from the urban pole and the schools that have access to the internet makes it impossible for these young people to move around, and the ghost of school dropout reappears in this context. In addition to the lack of access and devices for many students, few teachers had the opportunity to conduct training and become familiar with the new tools, which makes everything more difficult.

The difficulties in rural education is not a new agenda, it just took new forms, and distance education evidenced these disparities. However, it is necessary to take a more precise look at education in the countryside, rural young people need to have the same training opportunities that so many other young people have, and for that, paths, dialogues and environments must be created that make this access easier, fair and egalitarian.

Education is a right and it must be ensured without any difference or difficulty. We cannot allow another right to be denied, we need to believe in and defend an education that respects differences and does not limit any individual. For a free education for all, all and all.