Every day has become a challenge during the period of a pandemic. Presently it has been estimated that the impact would make a difference of 8.5 trillion dollars on the world economy over the next two years. More than 34 million people across the globe would be pushed into an extreme crisis because of this pandemic. The country’s future is in the hands of youngsters in which Education has a big role in the economy which is affected by the pandemic. The virus reached India in February and the situation became worse in March which leads to closure of all educational institutions across the country. February to June are the months for board examinations, school-college admissions and entrance tests for various colleges. The outbreak of Covid-19 has not only created a short impact on the learning sector with 285 million youngsters but also has economic and social consequences. This gave rise to a new phase for all students into the e-learning platform.
HOW DID IT EFFECT ?
As of 28th June 2020, the data of UNESCO has revealed that there has been nationwide closure of schools and colleges in more than 114 countries all across the world. The closure of all educational institutions has affected 34 crore students and the entire structure of teaching, assessment, learning, and schooling in India. The online teaching platform possesses difficulty for private schools where only a few people could adopt. The most affected ones are low income private as well as government schools where they had to completely shut down. One of the biggest threats created by the disease is in the case of employment opportunities where the corporate are withdrawing job offers. IT sector and organizations in many other sectors have recently announced that there won't be recruitment for this year.
According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy it is stated that the unemployment rate increased from 8.4% to 23% and urban unemployment rate to 30.9%. Due to the pandemic, the whole classroom set up has changed to a small room in our home and the chalk-board to chalk-talk with technology. E-learning platform creates a challenge for policymakers to increase the engagement level with the delivery of education and the digital divide.
In the short run, it has opened the window to e-learning platforms but created a digital divide among people. The school fees hike has boosted the stress level of parents and students in which some private schools in our country are not conducting any online classes but still they are charging fees from students during this economic situation. According to the 2014 NSSO data, for a common family in our country which includes a husband, wife, and two school going kids, 20% of their entire annual household income is spent on the education of the children.
Several parents have approached the Supreme court for a moratorium on the fees hike and some State governments like Delhi, Assam and Maharashtra have already taken action against it. Pandemic has created stress for students in the form of prolonged exposure to the screens with headphones, cancellation, and postponement of exams, and grading scenario leads to an increase in anxiety, depressions and also triggers students to commit suicides. Further, the absence of any kind of physical education and exercise has created a negative impact on the health of the student. Online classes are not a short-term solution for primary class kids where they require social-emotional bonding and contact with people and teachers for their development of the child. Due to these negative impacts, several countries decided to re-opening their schools like Denmark. In the case of conducting examinations, several universities across the world decided against holding open book exams. In India, exams like NEET and Joint Entrance Exam (JEE), CBSE haven been postponed.
HOW CAN WE OVERCOME ?
During this crisis, a crucial strategy is necessary to manage and build a strong Indian education system for the long-run. To ensure continuity of learning in government schools and colleges various software can be introduced to teachers to conduct teaching online. DIKSHA platform which is a government initiative program focuses on improvement for teachers learning. To cope up with the digital platform of delivering education to students DIKSHA provides teacher learning courses, teaching resources, and assessment for teachers. Teachers are the backbone behind every student and this initiative has helped many teachers across the nation to build up themselves.
One of the biggest concerns is the reach of e-learning solutions to vulnerable and marginalized people. Mobile phones and television were once cursed by every parent and have now emerged as playing a lead role in the current situation. It is expected that by 2024 the use of mobile internet to reach 85% of households and technology is offering access and personalized education to remote places in the country. As the demand increases for online education there needs to be strategies for improving the quality of higher studies in India. The government should take measures on the effect of a pandemic on job offers, internship programs, and research projects. There is an ongoing integration of classroom with e-learning in India which is the biggest challenge for EDTech. Due to these standards should be kept to ensure the quality of this delivery process as different e-learning platforms are providing courses, certifications, methodology, and assessment parameters differently.
As we say every coin has both sides and which is true in the case of fees hike. The parents raise voices against fees to hike wherein the educational institutions demand the fees hike to pay salaries to staff. One of the solutions which can be put forward is that the government should pay salaries to teachers out of the 20 lakh crore package offered by Prime Minister and parents should be relived completely until the schools re-open. Everybody talks from the perspective of either government or parents and nobody talks about the primary focus of education. The open book examinations are the strategy taken by educational institutions that trigger’s children critical thinking. On the growing problems of teachers raising non-payment of salary, inequality in teaching, not able to give personalized attention, has to lead to talks of declaring ‘Zero academic year’ which in turn can increase the morale of students. It is also found that only 4 states have a representation of parents on the school committee where fees hike can be controlled. It is important to make a parent-teacher association and grant them decision-making powers so they can regulate fees hike.
The education sector has not much changed for the past 2 decades which has turned now as a wake-up call. We face challenges in our everyday life and we are the survivors. It is not the time to sit and say this too shall pass but to re-engineer the education sector for benefit of nation.
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