The coronavirus pandemic has been engulfing the world for the past two years. It has greatly affected the normal life of the public. If we look at what has been the most affected after health, it would be the education system. We now have to wait and see how the third wave of COVID-19 will impact the education sector.
COVID’s effects on education
Cancellation of the Board exams for Class 10 and 12 is one of the biggest impacts on the education sector. The government did form a high-level committee to declare the result for Class 10. This was based on their annual examination of Class IX and assessments of Class 10. Thus, many students have errors in their results.
Students of Class 12 are also confused about their fate. Although the government declared the results, many questions remain about the methodology for awarding marks. As of now, we do not know what the future of these students would look like. Will this method of determining the results harm their prospects?
Third wave of COVID-19: A fresh concern
The third wave of COVID-19 pandemic is a matter of concern for the education system. This is especially true for the primary classes and the tribal/rural areas. Since schools started shutting down, many students have dropped out.
In the current context, online academic support is the only solution. This is, however, available mainly in the urban and semi-urban areas. In the rural and tribal interiors, where there is less internet penetration, online education is a distant dream for students.
So far, the government has not taken any proper measures, making it a matter of concern. This is something that needs immediate attention, as the future of our children depends on this.
How to deal with the situation?
To deal with the impending third wave of COVID-19, the government should take the necessary measures. Proper planning and strategizing are the need of the hour. And these need to be done in consultation with teachers and parents. There is one main question right now is. How can we can provide quality education to children where there is no internet and electricity?
Organisations like Smile Foundation have been attempting to continue the education of vulnerable children. Cluster classes, proper assessment and evaluation, etc are some of the techniques we are using. Initiatives like these need to be at the core of government interventions to deal with the third wave of COVID. This is because if measures are not implemented now, we will one day be left with a highly weakened education system.
