The education system thrives on peer-to-peer learning as much as it depends on student-teacher relationships. In the wake of Covid-19 and its consequential preventive measures, the shift in lockdown education from traditional to online methods has incurred an unfathomable impact on students. However, for constructive actions, the problem needs to be acknowledged first.
Covid-19's Impact on students’ education
Coming close to even addressing the gravity of the situation was a far cry. Most people from the parent's category fell into the generation that has only witnessed formal schools. Schools, colleges, universities, and training institutes are sometimes referred to as traditional education instead of informal or non-formal education. Where parents and teachers equally struggled to understand the limitations and extend of the online shift, more enormous challenges were brewing in hindsight.
Commencing of the Lockdown
A significant blow that first came to the education system was in March 2020. Indian Government issued a nationwide lockdown of schools and institutions on March 16. The University Grants Commission requested that universities postpone exams until March 31. The board exams for CBSE and ICSE boards were initially delayed until March 31 and then again until July. Despite the fact that, prior to COVID, only a quarter of Indian families (24%) had access to the internet, and there is a significant rural-urban and gender disparity, online learning was encouraged, but the implementation was always doubtful. Almost all states had launched lockdown education through online platforms as a replacement for schools by April 2021.
Ever since the lockdown education took hold of its new platform, there have been many impacts that have directly or indirectly deteriorated education, thereby posing a significant concern of impact on students.
Compromised academic integrity
Students education through online platforms has jeopardised academic integrity and has been noted globally. Exam cheating, contract cheating, and academic file-sharing have all been cited as significant issues. Cheating has been significantly easier for pupils since the start of COVID-19 in March due to the fact that learning is mainly done remotely.
Since attitudes have evolved away from prioritising school over other things, pupils have shown no regret. [56] From the perspective of teachers' rights, online education has raised a number of unresolved legal difficulties, particularly in the areas of copyright and how to deal with unapproved lecture reuse.
Many schools turned to commercial businesses to handle exam proctoring, but worries about student privacy, surveillance, and the influence on student mental health arose almost immediately. Students have become less concerned about the integrity of their work as a result of the lack of student-teacher interaction. Because students' education has become less essential as a result of COVID-19, kids are forced to send in half-completed homework, receive answers from their classmates, or turn in nothing at all.
In the years that form the foundation of character, students are constantly exposed to unethical practices. As a result, students are liberally violating protocols not to get out of trouble but because it is convenient. With such twisted and compromised practices, it would be hard for students to cope with post-Covid education and thrive in real-world situations.
Mental stress
Another significant impact that has been witnessed due to lockdown education is mental stress. This impact on students is an equal threat for both children and adults. They are experiencing prolonged and collective stress due to a variety of cultural changes and familial events during this period of lockdown education. Death and illness of family members, social isolation from friends, and extended family, along with parents being forced to act as educators while working from home or providing essential community services are all significant stressors.
Given the social, emotional, and economic strains occurring concurrently and are expected to persist for some time after the crisis has been handled, students' physical and mental health requirements will be even more intense in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Piling up of strain
Apart from children, the other most prominent section of society that is at severe exposure of covid-19 and its inherent effects are women. Along with handling work responsibilities, women also form a significant chunk of the caregiver community. At most, this means that lockdown education is forcing caregivers to handle multiple double the workload. This, in turn, affects their potential in assisting children in meeting their education requirements.
As an imperative outcome of this strain, the students are forced to accommodate their educational needs as per the caregiver's schedule. Unknowingly, due to this impact on students, many have reported developing a co-dependent relationship and depression due to underdeveloped social skills and self-discovery. Hence, students do not feel confident enough in achieving their potential resorting to inferiority complexes.
Deteriorating health
The most noticeable impact on students of the pandemic has been on their physical health. Lockdown education has negatively influenced students education. Schooling provides the essential knowledge that helps to increase physical strength and agility. When schools are under closure, children and teenagers lose out on opportunities for physical development and growth. The disadvantages are exacerbated for underprivileged students, who have fewer educational chances outside of school.
In a pre-covid world, students would be spending about 2 hours a day on screen on average. However, with a complete shift from offline to online mode, the lockdown education has no choice but to expose students to prolonged hours of screen time, which impacts their brain activity and deteriorates their eyesight, metabolism, and overall physical conditioning. With restrictions on outdoor movement, students have long periods of restlessness where their daily physical requirements are never met, and hence, this further contributed to anger bursts and tantrum episodes.
Additionally, while adults have an overload of tasks to manage, students often end up spending more and more time on screens to keep themselves engaged. The cycle becomes never-ending, causing more long-term damage than short-term damage, which is often beyond repair.
Compound loss for weaker sections of society
As in most societal jolts, the weaker societies have taken the top hit from school closures followed by lockdown education. With limited to no resources to aid in online education, the dropout percentage in the Covid-era has seen a tremendous spike. Many students from this section were dependent on the school facilities to fulfil their meal and health care requirements. Now, these being out of the equation, education has taken a back seat for them, and they can't be blamed. Even when Covid-19 gets under control and the education system gets itself back into form, the repercussions would be challenging to deal with.
Conclusion
As Covid-19 grips the world, its impact has touched everyone. The impact on students has resulted in difficulty to cope with the pressure of achieving substantial knowledge. On the other hand, many are left being dissatisfied with the quality of education.
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