Impact of COVID-19 on Our Education
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-Cov‑2 has changed the course of our life. In this article, we will present our opinion that the lockdowns indeed had a few ancillary family, environmental, and familial benefits, but the negative effects outweighed the positives and that a more careful approach should have been considered before the widespread disruption to the lives of the youth.
In order to reduce the spread of the virus, the government has taken various precautionary measures including a nationwide lockdown.
A big concern of the pandemic and resulting lockdowns was how to continue educating India’s students effectively while schools were mandatorily closed. There were several sets of guidelines and plans issued by the government. Due to school closures, there was a need to adopt a change in our educational system. Online learning was put into place, and the mantra was that education would continue at a distance, via technology, and that all would be good and the education of students wouldn’t miss a beat.
Educational institutions made various efforts to reach students through various electronic, impersonal means which were readily available to wealthier families across the nation. However, the poorest, and even many middle-class were hurt the most as they just didn’t have the resources to attend the online classes because they couldn’t obtain, or use effectively, the gadgets and technology required for online classes.
Many students fell through the cracks.
Initially, students were really happy because of the the lockdown, and especially of school closures. They were spending their whole day playing games and watching movies. Naturally though, after a while the students became bored with this unusual twist in their daily routines, and they realized that their old pre-pandemic routine of coming to in-person school was much better than this new lax and electronic lifestyle. Students were waiting for the lockdowns to end so that they could become free again from the isolation and able to meet with their friends and attend in-person classes.
Every coin has two sides, and similarly, the lockdown also had both positive and negative effects. On the one hand, students had extra time to prepare for competitive exams and self-study. They also had more quality time with family and learning to concoct new activities at home. However, on the other hand, the closure of physical schools forced students to do online learning, which had many detrimental effects in areas such as academic performance, straining of eyesight from increased screen-time, mental health issues such as depression, stress, anxiety, and frustration from human alienation.
After facing this hazardous pandemic, we realize that the offline mode of study is more beneficial and productive as compared to the virtual mode of study. Offline classes provides for direct interaction between teachers and students, hence it provides a healthier environment for the student to flourish. Therefore, in our conclusion, despite the few blessings that came our way via the lockdown, overall, the lockdowns and school closures were much more harmful than beneficial. The lockdowns gave us a better appreciation for our physical learning environment and interpersonal interactions, and we will hopefully not take it for granted now that we’ve seen the negative impact we’ve experienced without it.
Thank you for reading our opinion.
The Student Website Editorial Team
*Disclaimer: This is the sole opinion of the Student Editorial Team and does not necessarily represent the views of our school or teachers.