The education sector is not behind when it comes to coping up with COVID-19. Like other sectors, the education sector has also been one of the major victims of the pandemic. Online classes are the only option that can be relied upon right now. The students looking forward to joining their dream colleges, school students excited to get their new books and final year students to start with their placement process, have suffered the worst hit.
The centre has instructed all the schools to opt for an online mode of classes, which seems to be the only immediate solution for the educational institutions. The schools and colleges also came up with a pro-rata marking scheme that is the internal mark of the student will be scaled up to the total marks.
Apart from the security concerns of the e-portals like Zoom, the affordability of high-speed internet connection has been a significant point of concern. The question also arises on the quality of education, has it improved or dived?
Hardik Jalan, an eighth standard class student, of Cambridge School in Indirapuram, said "Although it's a good way of learning and I have been enjoying it, but we face a lot of difficulties during the classes. The classes are not as interactive as they used to be. We are not able to build a rapport with the teacher, which was possible back in school. I hope this all gets over soon and we get back to our classrooms."
Ishita Sigtia, who is studying in Class XI of Convent of Jesus and Mary school in Delhi, spoke about the connectivity issues.
She said "We waste 5-10 minutes in a 40-minute class every day due to connectivity issues. Sometimes, unknown people also enter the Zoom call and interrupt the flow of the classroom."
The subsequent lockdown has produced an extraordinary reliance on technology to keep various sectors running. With the nationwide curfew extended for two more weeks, the physical classes seem impossible to continue in the near future.
According to a school teacher, who refused to reveal his identity, said, "How can the management expect a 60-year plus teacher who is not tech-savvy to do a Zoom call with 40 odd students".
Online mode of education seems to replace the book with the computer, but how will it replace the physical activities like PT, sports etc.? To this, Asha Mahule, a sports teacher at MLB Girls high school answered, "If we talk about academics, we have uploaded all the content online and gave its access to the students, but we don't know whether the student can understand or is he even taking it seriously? But we are more concerned about the physical fitness of the student. This is an unprecedented situation, and I urge students to start doing yoga in their homes."
Another primary school teacher - Sapna Asthana from Bhopal, said "Handling primary class student is already a difficult task, it becomes completely unmanageable on a virtual medium. The school instructed us to send homework via WhatsApp so that the students don't run out of practice."
As online education seems to be an emerging alternative, but the practical application of such learning is still under question.
Dr Sushobhan Patankar, Head of the department – Journalism at Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, emphasised on the importance of 'self-learning'.
"We have to change the way we look at education; it's not just for now but for the future. We should self learn; this is something none of us know. Theoretical classes can be done online as an immediate solution, but what about the practical courses? We teach on-ground reporting as the essence of journalism. To maintain the practicality, therefore, an alternative must be pondered upon by the educational institute.
"Online classes are a good alternative as of now, but we need to come up with a solution that engages the student in a better way," said Dr Patankar
As per the latest updates from the ministry of Human Resource Development, the Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal will interact with students on May 5. He has asked students to share their questions using hashtag #EducationMinisterGoesLive.
Through a webinar, the minister is also expected to answer the parent's queries regarding their child's education and discuss the academic plan.
Additionally, the HRD Ministry has also released an alternative academic calendar for the upper primary classes. The calendar contains week-wise plan consisting of interesting and challenging activities, regarding theme/chapter taken from syllabus or textbook.
With its pros and cons, the education sector has no other option but to conduct online classes.
But what about the students in government schools? Are they privileged enough to afford these classes? There has been no update on what the government schools are doing to cope up with their academic calendars. Is it again the weaker section of the society who will suffer the most?
