No education. No schooling? But a fancy tech candy integration. Due to Covid-19 the defined approach towards learning took a back seat. In India, we aim at approaching comfort and safety with the closure of schools and the scientific evidence for schools as Covid-19 hotspots is very weak. A study in Spain looked at data from over 1 million children of all ages in schools, and found that the R-Value (Rate of Virus Spread) is well less than one for all school students. The R value is lower for lower ages is as low as 0.2 for preprimary children and hence the practice of closing schools appear unscientific.
Can online learning be the ultimate solution? Not so! Teachers and the parents need to prioritise education and closing schools is not the answer. Educators need to brainstorm and strategize to deliver knowledge in the new age. The concern remains unansweredIs the pandemic scarier or the edudemic? One cannot undermine the importance of classrooms. This bridge of learning gap that the Covid-19 widened has also resulted in the investment in the infrastructure in addition to a large extent.
Janmejaya Sinha, Chairman, BCG India said, “With due respect to school education, the situation is dire. Data shows that more than 70% of the students have not received any significant educational input in the online world. A one-time package for the safe reopening of schools is required. The majority of India’s one million schools have closed for two years. Some have been used as vaccination/ isolation centres. As we look to open in 2022, physical infrastructure needs to be revamped and provisions made for forward-looking health and safety measures.”
By closing schools for this long, we have violated children’s rights in a big way. Unfortunately, schools have become an easy and a soft target for politician and closing schools provides them with the benefit of being seen as ‘doing something’ to being ‘caring and concerned’ to contain the COVID 19.
Does online education constitute education? It is a poor replacement for physical classes and that the children mainly in the pre-primary and the primary can very well learn as well as being socially and emotionally involved. According to a survey report, from Sept. 2021, the reading and writing levels of students have declined, with nearly half of them unable to read more than a few words.
