Students are directly affected by Covid-19. There is huge academic loss or learning gaps created by the pandemic due to the long closure of schools. There is direct academic loss due to limited online classes, revised syllabus and poor assessment system adopted by various examination boards across the globe.
We have handed over Android phones to many students without proper guidance and as a result a very good number of students are addicted to online games or to surf unwanted areas. This is for those who are fortunate to have Android phones.
In India, a good number of students do not have access to good android phones especially in rural areas. There is a big learning gap among students from rural areas and urban areas. I came across schools in rural areas where there was no opportunity for students either online or offline.
Students were handed over question papers and answer scripts with an instruction to complete at home within a week. Most of these examinations were conducted with the help of parents. Examination boards were also not behind, they also considered the school’s past performance to award present students instead of assessing student’s performance.
There are different types of schools offering different types of education across the globe. The Covid pandemic has hit it all, but the sufferers are the students from poor countries and especially rural areas. No government planned for providing handset/Android phones and free network for these innocent children (Students from rural areas, underprivileged areas, girl child). Many organisations saw this as an opportunity to expand their business and offered an online solution to those who can afford it.
Students had not only learning losses but also lost their mid- day meal, emotional, physical and wellbeing opportunity provided by the wider school community. The Government of Meghalaya has decided to reopen schools which show its concern for education.
Schools should not run as a commercial activity, but private schools have struggled to pay salaries to staff, collect fees and offer online classes. Government or international agencies have no interest to offer some help or support to low cost private schools which cater to students in rural and semi urban areas by providing education and employment to many.
The Indian government has introduced a revolutionary education plan “New Education Policy” but will it be implemented in true sense? Who will bridge the divide? What about learning losses due to pandemics? There is a DBT scheme of the government of India which provides farmers a certain amount on regular intervals. But nothing for the future generations our students and they were compelled for child labour to survive.
It is also a huge loss for girl children. They were the main sufferers and no story or real survey is available yet. The national achievement survey was conducted in selected districts and sample schools in India which will provide system level reflection on effectiveness of school education. This would help diagnose learning gaps of students and then we will require framing education policy accordingly.
But another side of this aspect is to provide support at grass root level to students and schools without any discrimination or differencing between the two private or public. During pandemic schools decided to offer online classes and there were deductions in school time as we could not offer eight periods. There are limitations of screen time and as a result syllabus was reduced to almost 50 per cent. This has already created a vacuum in the syllabus. But the ultimate sufferers are the students.
Whether we promote students without examination or equating their performances in other subjects or school’s past performance, the ultimate sufferers in all spheres academic, physical, emotional are the students.
Let us decide honestly and avoid to the extent possible that schools shall not be closed in future. Students will not be awarded grades according to will and wish of different educational boards. Reduce the bureaucratic interference in education. Stop discrimination in between rural and urban students; don’t differentiate in private or public schools and teachers. The State government should plan and include school expenses as part of their budget and provide sufficient grants in aid to all schools in order to avoid commercial use of school campuses and the education system as a whole.
