As you already know very well, currently the world is going through a very difficult time amidst this Covid-19 Pandemic. The outbreak of the coronavirus has deeply affected all sectors, especially the educational sector. With the COVID-19 -a novel coronavirus disease spreading across the globe, many countries have ordered the closure of all educational institutes like schools, colleges, and universities. So, the educational sector has taken a huge toll and has come to a functional standstill as they had to protect their students from the harmful virus, which is likely to spread in a highly socializing student community.
How has the pandemic affected education across the globe?
At the beginning of February 2020, schools only in China and a few other affected countries were closed due to the rapid increase in contamination. However, by mid-March, nearly 75 countries have implemented or announced the closure of educational institutions. As of 10th March, school and university closures globally due to the COVID-19.
Each day millions of children do not go to school due to ongoing crises. As the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) acknowledged the public health decision to close schools, contingency plans were made to ensure the right to education even in times of crisis. GCE believes everybody has a right to education irrespective of where they live and what crisis they’re going through. Education is an essential right for children, young and adults So to carry on with their studies the entire education sector moved to an online mode where the students were able to carry on with their education at the comfort of their home and continue their academic activities going.
A new era in education:
Even though the lockdown and social distancing are the only ways to slow down the spread of the COVID-19 by breaking the chain of transmission, the closure of educational institutions has affected a large number of students. As the schools and colleges are shut for an indefinite period, both educational institutions and students are experimenting with ways like e-learning to complete their prescribed syllabus within the stipulated time frame. With the transition from a physical classroom to a digital platform like online classes apps, the effectiveness of online learning from the app is still quite questionable. These measures have certainly caused a degree of inconvenience, but they have also prompted new examples of educational innovation when it comes to digital interventions.
According to experts, studies have shown the effectiveness of education solely depends on the accessibility of the internet and device, an ideal digital platform that provides different features which helps the student with their studies and proper training of teachers regarding the usage of the digital platform that online classes apps.
Is e-Learning worth the hype?
There were several positive and negative aspects when it comes to the transition from physical to an online classroom. At the age of exploring the world, finding their true selves and making a social connection, sadly the students had to quarantine themselves and have to follow covid protocol and sit in front of their mobile phone, laptop or pc for hours to continue their education. Moreover, due to this reduction in the learning time, from 8 hours straight in classrooms to 2 to 5 hours in front of the screen has led to several changes like a student like loss of social connection and many more. Moreover, reports proved that the development of the child, as a whole, has been impeded. To overcome this situation post covid, experts suggest there should be an abundance of summer activities, self-development courses, and more personalized learning modules to enrich all facets of the students’ learning journey.
Even though there are several cons to education due to covid-19, there is a positive side too. students were able to come across several opportunities of learning new skill development through online courses and webinars. Moreover, students can continue with their studies without getting affected by the dangerous coronavirus and be able to gain knowledge at the same time.
The pandemic is currently unavoidable but we need to move forward keeping in mind that even though there is are several negative aspects when it comes to online learning but there is also some positive side to this which helps in student’s development despite this ongoing hard situation.
