Lockdowns affecting students

Covid-19’s worldwide attack affected everyone and every activity. Industries, corporations, transportation, markets and educational institutes were shut down from mid-March in India. Let us put aside the cause of disruption or the discussion on whether it was a wise decision or not and focus on how educational institutes, students and parents faced/are facing this trouble.

As far as schools, colleges and universities are concerned, months of March, April and May are considered peak period as exams were going on in schools and were about to start in colleges and universities. The unexpected and sudden disruption in education system caused by these lockdowns, affected millions of students in India,classes and lectures were stopped abruptly, exams are postponed or still TBD.

About students of kindergartens and elementary classes, most of the states and boards have ordered to promote these students to next classes without exams.

Promotion without exams was something out of a dream for children and in this situation, it is completely justified. But it is seen that many parents were looking for private tuitions and many schools were also conducting online classes for these students.

Their argument, about why they still want their children/ students to do the academic study when it is total lockdown and schools are closed, was so that they would not lag behind. This argument is completely absurd.

When everyone was at home and every activity was ceased, how they can be left behind? Parents could have given their kids a chance to learn so many things which academics would not teach them. It could have been a time for them to grow individually and on their own, develop a hobby or an interest.

But no, as always elementary schools and parents of these children can be seen suffocating them. Even in some cases people were seen prioritising education in private tuitions over the health of their kids. Education is such a race and for so long, that parents did not know what to do when the race ceased.

It is pointless to expect from these parents and teachers to nudge these children in right direction at the time of pandemic and lockdowns when their normal activities were forced to stopped.

Focus should have been on their all-round growth and encouraging them to manage and utilize their free time rather than stuffing them with new class’ syllabus.

For the students of grade 9th to 10+2, promotion without examination was not an option. It is also a crucial phase in a person’s schooling as it has direct impact on college and career of a person.

When lockdown was announced, various boards were conducting exams. Those exams are postponed but this breach in regularity will have impact on results and admissions of colleges and universities. On the top of that psychological effects cannot be neglected and system is not helping either. Large numbers of schools are conducting online classes for these students.

But the question is: Is everyone able to attend these online classes and can afford gadgets and internet? Are these online classes in reach of all students of those schools. (And are these classes any helpful to them in learning is entirely a different question.)

These questions can be answered with a news: a class 10th student committed suicide in Kerala’s Malappuram district because she was unable to attend online classes. She had apparently used a bottle of kerosene to set herself on fire and her charred body was found in an unoccupied house last week. Her family was unable to afford new smart phone to access online classes.

Death of a 15 years old girl, again put digital divide in question and proved that not everyone can afford these lockdowns and study from home.

The reality of rural, peri-urban and poorer India is different than urban middle-class India. Education in rural India is already facing many challenges, these new ones are making them more dire.

Interruption in preparation and schedules of various entrance exams also increases the psychological pressure on these students along with all the other burdens they are already facing. Who is answerable for digital divide? How students are coping with this extra stress?

Who is going to help and guide them in this time of disorder in their exams and admissions: parents? Teachers? Counsellors? These all are crucial questions but still without answers.

Similarly, in the case of college and university students, some people are suggesting online exams. The reach of internet in India is hardly 50% (shocking, but a fact).Merely half of the population of our country has access to internet.

If colleges and universities decide on online exams, where will the students – who belong to the half which is without internet penetration – go?

The lack of seriousness about the matters of education in India can also be gauged from the fact that HRD (the ministry of Human Resource Development) keep it in the category-C (the lowest category) for expenditure.

We live in a country where they spend money on religious buildings and statues rather than on education and technology.

When was the last time that our government spent money to provide gadgets and internet to college/university students?

Another big question is are these exams worth of all the stress they are causing to these students in these times? If No, then maybe they never were. But if yes, then why so many loopholes in the system, why so much unclarity, why disruption of few months in turning into such a disorder, stress, and uncertainty?

How and who will address the various divides that the Indian students are facing? Maybe the whole education system needs re-evaluation about who, how and what is it teaching. Maybe it is the time they should address the issues and shortcomings, and make the education system something more than formality, stress, race, or business.