INSTITUTE OF HOTEL MANAGEMENT

CATERING TECHNOLOGY AND APPLIED

NUTRITION, RAJBAGH, SRINAGAR J&K 190008

PROJECT TITLE

“STAFF TRAINING AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT AS

TULE FOR HIGH EMPLOYEE PERFORMANMCE IN
HOTEL ”

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF DEGREE
OF B.Sc.
(HOSPITALITY & HOTEL ADMINISTRATION)

Submitted By :
1. NAVAL KISHOR Roll No. : 1841120044
2. PRABHAT SINGH
 RESEARCH PROJECT REPORT
ON
Impact of COVID-19 on education system

SUBMITTED BY:
Naval Kishor (1841120044)
&
Prabhat Singh

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF:

Dr Tariq Ahmad Mir Sir
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This Project Work titled “Impact of COVID-19 on education system” is

a successful out come of my hard work with the help and guidance of my
respected Sir.

I sincerely acknowledge the contribution of the suggestions given by Dr

Tariq Ahmad Mir Sir without which his project could never become a
reality.

Last but not least I acknowledge all my friends who gave me suggestion
and full support in carrying out research for the topic.
 OBJECTIVE

 The Aim of this study is to understand what types of Covid-19

affected Educational System.

 To study about how governments take Decisions about study in time

of Covid -19.

 To get full knowledge about covid-19 effects on world while

educational system.

 What types of Policies Indian Government follow about Education in

time of Covid-19.

 When and How Re-open Educational Institutions.

 METHODOLOGY

In order to collect primary in formation it was decided that the

Questionnaire method would be most suitable in combination with an
oral field survey. A special questionnaire was designed to collect
information on the relevant topics.

It was decided to use a controlled opinion questionnaire and that

too of alternative choice variety . These type of questionnaire were
selected for two reasons.

1) It will obtain the right type of information from the respondents.

2) Controlled opinion questions also help in classification and

tabulation of the replies, which in turn help in interpretation.
 Abstract

Coronavirus affects the education system in the world. Schools, colleges,

and universities are closed to control the spread of the coronavirus. School
closure brings difficulties for students, teachers, and parents. So, distance
learning is a solution to continue the education system. However, the lack
of network infrastructures, computers, and internet access  is challenging
distance learning  in developing countries. This paper aims to review the
impact of the COVID-19  pandemic on the education system in developing
countries. Hence, countries design a strategy to use educational
technology, zero-fee internet educational resources, free online learning
resources, and broadcasts teaching. During  closures, educational
institutions design curriculum, prepare teaching-learning strategies for
post-coronavirus. The educational institutions design strategies to recover
lost learning, and return students to school when schools reopen.
Coronavirus has been impacting the face-to-face education system of
developing countries. Therefore, developing countries should enhance
broadcast teaching, online teaching, and virtual class infrastructures.
 INTRODUCTION

As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, so do the risks we face.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped at national borders. It has
affected people regardless of
nationality, level of education, income or gender. But the same has not
been true for its consequences, which have hit the most vulnerable hardest.

Education is no exception. Students from privileged backgrounds,

supported by their parents and eager and able to learn, could find their
way past closed school doors to alternative learning opportunities. Those
from disadvantaged backgrounds often remained shut out when their
schools shut down.

This crisis has exposed the many inadequacies and inequities in our
education systems – from access to the broadband and computers needed
for online education, and the supportive environments needed to focus on
learning, up to the misalignment between resources and needs.

The lockdowns in response to COVID-19 have interrupted conventional

schooling with nationwide school closures in most OECD and partner
countries, the majority lasting at least 10 weeks. While the educational
community have made concerted efforts to maintain learning continuity
during this period, children and students have had to rely more on their
own resources to continue learning remotely through the Internet, television
or radio. Teachers also had to adapt to
new pedagogical concepts and modes of delivery of teaching, for which
they may not have been trained. In particular, learners in the most
marginalised groups, who don’t have access to digital learning resources or
lack the resilience and engagement to learn on their own, are at risk of
falling behind.

Hanushek and Woessman have used historical growth regressions to

estimate the long-run economic impact of this loss of the equivalent to one-
third of a year of schooling for the current student cohort. Because learning
loss will lead to skill loss, and the skills people have relate to their
productivity,
gross domestic product (GDP) could be 1.5% lower on average for the
remainder of the century. The present value of the total cost would amount
to 69% of current GDP for the typical country. These estimates assume that
only the cohort currently in school are affected by the closures and that all
subsequent cohorts resume normal schooling. If schools are slow to
return to prior levels of performance, the growth losses will be
proportionately higher. Of course, slower growth from the loss of skills in
today’s students will only be seen in the long term. However, when
considered over this term, the impact becomes significant. In other words,
countries will continue to face reduced economic well-being, even if their
schools immediately return to pre-pandemic levels of performance.
For example, for the United States, if the student cohorts in school during
the 2020 closures record a corona-induced loss of skills of one-tenth of a
standard deviation and if all cohorts thereafter return to previous levels,
the 1.5% loss of future GDP would be equivalent to a total economic loss of
USD 15.3 trillion (Hanushek E and Woessman L, forthcoming[1]).

The COVID-19 pandemic has also had a severe impact on higher education
as universities closed their premises and countries shut their borders in
response to lockdown
measures. Although higher education institutions were quick to replace
face-to-face lectures with online learning, these closures affected learning
and examinations as well as the safety and legal status of international
students in their
host country. Perhaps most importantly, the crisis raises questions about
the value offered by a university education which includes networking and
social opportunities as well as educational content. To remain relevant,
universities will need to reinvent their learning environments so that
digitalisation expands and complements student-teacher and other
relationships.

Reopening schools and universities will bring unquestionable benefits to

students and the wider economy. In addition, reopening schools will bring
economic benefits to families
by enabling some parents to return to work. Those benefits, however, must
be carefully weighed against the health risks and the requirement to
mitigate the toll of the pandemic. The need for such trade-offs calls for
sustained and effective co- ordination between education and public health
authorities at different levels of government, enhanced by local
participation
and autonomy, tailoring responses to the local context. Several steps can
be taken to manage the risks and trade-offs, including physical distancing
measures, establishing hygiene protocols, revising personnel and
attendance policies, and investing in staff training on appropriate
measures to cope with the virus.

However, the challenges do not end with the immediate crisis. In

particular, spending on education may be compromised in the coming
years. As public funds are directed to health and social welfare, long-term
public spending on education is at risk despite short-term stimulus
packages in some countries. Private funding will also become scarce as the
economy weakens and unemployment rises. At tertiary level, the decline in
the international student mobility following travel restrictions is already
reducing the funds available in countries where foreign students pay
higher fees. More widely, the lockdown has exacerbated inequality among
workers. While teleworking is often an option for the most qualified, it is
seldom possible for those with lower levels of education, many of whom
have been on the front lines in the response to the pandemic, providing
essential services to society.

Throughout this crisis, education systems are increasingly looking towards

international policy experiences, data and analyses as they develop their
policy responses. The OECD’s publication Education at a Glance
contributes to these efforts by developing and analysing quantitative,
internationally comparable indicators that are particularly relevant to the
understanding of the environment in which the sanitary crisis has
unfolded. While the indicators in the publication Education at a Glance
date from before the crisis, this brochure puts these indicators into the
context of the pandemic. It provides insights into its economic consequences
for education, but also the dynamics of reconciling public health with
maintaining educational provision. The policy responses presented in this
brochure cover key measures announced or introduced before the end of
June 2020.
 IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON EDUCATION SYSTEM

In the world, most countries have temporarily closed child-cares, nursery,

primary and secondary schools, colleges, and universities to control the
spread of the COVID-19 pandemic (TUAC Secretariat Briefing, 2020) . COVID-
19 impacts not only students but also it affects teachers and parents
across the world. UNESCO reported that over 1.5 billion students in 195
countries are out of school in the world due to the school
closures (UNESCO, 2020b). As (Pujari, 2020) COVID-19 affects all over the
education system, examinations, and evaluation, starting of new semester
or term and it may extend the school year.
2.1. Teachers, Students, and Parents

The pandemic of COVID-19 pandemic is affecting schools, students,

teachers, and parents. The COVID-19 crisis increases social inequality in
schools. Students from more advantaged parents attend schools with
better digital infrastructure and teachers might have higher levels of
digital technology skills. Some schools can be well equipped in digital
technology and educational resources. Disadvantaged students are
attending schools with lower ICT infrastructure and educational
resources (Di Pietro et al., 2020). Following COVID-19 more advantaged
students are attending schools to adopt online learning. Schools in
disadvantaged, rural areas lack the appropriate digital infrastructure
required to deliver teaching at the remote. Also, there is a significant
difference between private and public schools in technology and
educational resources. In most countries, private schools are more
effective than public schools. Students’ have not equal access to digital
technology and educational materials. In the (Woday et al., 2020) survey,
the study finds during schools closure the level of anxiety, depression
disorders, and stress are high among students.
Distance learning is a solution to continue the education system, but it is
difficult in developing countries because many parents have not
themselves been to school and there is a lack of the necessary
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructures,
computers, radio, and television to provide distance learning. Access to
computers and access to the internet is basic to successful distance
teaching. This is not guaranteed for all students in developing
countries (Zhang, 2020). Also, staff and teachers should familiar with
online teaching platforms. Teachers struggle with difficulties in the area
of technology and lack of infrastructure availability. Some private schools
may not pay their staffs’ salary and some schools may pay half salary.
COVID-19 affects poor families since many students don’t have access to
the equipment at home. The physical school closure and the
implementation of distance education lead the student to spent less time
learning, stress, and lack of learning motivation (Di Pietro et al., 2020).
2.2. Unequal Access to Educational Resources and
Technology
The school’s closure due to COVID-19 may not affect students equally.
Students from less advantaged backgrounds highly suffered during
COVID-19 than advantaged students (Di Pietro et al., 2020). To control
the coronavirus spread, most countries have been working to encourage
parents and schools to help students continue to learn at home through
distance learning (UNESCO, 2020a). The governments advised students
to learn from radio and television lessons that can be accessed at home.
The radio and television lessons may work for some children and
students in urban areas, but most parents in rural areas have not
accessed to radios and television lessons. For example, in Ethiopia, more
than 80% of the population lives in rural areas with limited or no access
to electric power, so that it is challenging for students in rural areas to
learn from radio and television lessons (Tiruneh, 2020). The schools in
urban areas are teaching their students from a distance by uploading
assignments, books, and reading materials through Google Classroom, e-
mail, social media, and other applications. In some urban areas, even if
distance learning is provided due to a lack of monitoring strategies some
students may not use it properly. Private schools sending learning
materials directly to parents through social media platforms. There is a
difference between rural and urban schools and the public and private
schools to keep their students learning from home. Also, public school
teachers and students have limited or no access to the
internet (Tzifopoulos, 2020).
The school closure brings difficulties for students, families, and teachers
of developing countries. Students from poor families with lower
educational levels and children with poor learning motivation suffer most
during coronavirus. The children may have higher dependence than
younger students on parents and they need guidance in their learning
process, internet access, and usage of digital devices and
applications (Tzifopoulos, 2020). Furthermore, poor and digitally-illiterate
families’ children are further suffering (Tiruneh, 2020). There were
already inequalities before coronavirus in access to quality education
between students in urban and rural areas, and students from families
with higher and lower socioeconomic status. School closures could
further increase the inequalities between students (Owusu-Fordjour et
al., 2015). Students in rural areas and from disadvantaged families lack
access to technology, internet access, and educational resources (Di
Pietro et al., 2020).
2.3. Assessment and Evaluation
Distance learning is a good opportunity for teachers, students, and
families. In (Zhu & Liu, 2020) developed actions such as introduced
online learning platforms, use Blackboard, Zoom, TronClass, Classin, and
Wechat group platforms, and conducted online training, and collected
information about all courses. Online teaching and learning are not a new
mode of delivery for developed countries and some developing countries.
However, shifting from face-to-face class to online learning is challenging
for teachers, students, families, and the countries government due to lack
of finance, skill, ICT infrastructure, internet access, and educational
resources (Basilaia & Kvavadze, 2020). Furthermore, computers and
other IT equipment, at home are difficult for most parents, children, and
students in developing countries (Sahu, 2020). Additionally, some
courses are difficult or impossible to teach and learn through online
learning methods such as sport, nursing, laboratories, music, and art
courses.
The shift from face-to-face class to online class has a serious impact on
assessments and evaluation. Depending on the course nature and the
assessment type applying assessments and evaluation online is a
challenging task. So that teachers have enforced to change their
assessment types to fit the online mode. Also, it is difficult to monitor the
student how they are taking courses online and difficult to ensure that
students are not cheating during online exams (Basilaia & Kvavadze,
2020). Additionally, laboratory tests, practical tests, and performance
tests are impossible to conduct online. Moreover, students who do not
have internet access will suffer to take assessments and
evaluations (Sahu, 2020). In (Osman, 2020) the assessment and
evaluation of students’ performance in online learning is difficult for both
instructors and students particularly teaching practicum, technical
competencies, and the assessment of practical skills is difficult. According
to (UNESCO, 2020b) report, even for students, teachers, and parents in
countries with reliable ICT infrastructure and internet access, the rapid
transition to online learning has been challenging. Students, parents, and
teachers also require training to deliver online learning effectively, but
such support is particularly limited in developing countries. Education
inequalities are a threat to education system continuity at a time of
unexpected educational system closures (UNESCO, 2020b). Because,
there are a limited number of computers, internet access, mobile network
access, and lack of ICT trained teachers in developing
countries (O’Hagan, 2020). Therefore, even if online teaching and learning
are a good opportunity to continue education during the pandemic it is
challenging for developing countries (Sun et al., 2020).
2.4. Mental and Physical Health
The closures schools and higher education negatively affect the mental
and physical health of children, students, parents, and teachers in the
world, especially in developing countries (UNESCO, 2020b). Since during
school closures, both boy and girl students in most rural areas may be
forced to fully support their families in cattle herding and farming. Girl
students from low-income families and rural areas can be at a higher risk
of sexual abuse, and forced labor, and early marriage. The infected cases
rapid increase has created a sense of anxiety and uncertainty about what
will happen (Tiruneh, 2020). The lockdown due to coronavirus may
people are feeling stress, fear, and anxiety, such as a fright of dying, a
fear of their relatives dying (Sahu, 2020). This stress may affect the
students, mental, and physical health of students. The pandemic may
have a serious influence on the careers or may have not to graduate of
this years’ higher education undergraduate students (Niranjan, 2020). All
students may not have good interaction with online learning applications
and platforms (Haleem et al., 2020), because some of the students are
active and some may take a longer time to familiarize themselves with the
system.
3. Continuity Education System during COVID-
19
UNICEF (UNICEF, 2020) stated that in the case of school, college, and
university closures, support continued access to quality education. This
can include the use of distance learning strategies, assigning reading and
exercises for home study, radio or television teaching of academic
content, assigning teachers to conduct remote follow-up with students,
and develop advanced education strategies. The pandemic has made all
the education system across the world to adopt distance learning since
the pandemic pushes face-to-face learning to online learning. So, in most
developed countries, courses, and exams are conducted online by using
different applications, and social networks (Sun et al., 2020). Used the
situation as an opportunity to install network infrastructure and scale
internet access across urban and rural areas (Viner et al., 2020).
Students are started to learn from home and stay at home as much as
possible, to maintain physical distancing, and to save themselves. In
some countries, before COVID-19 there was an online learning system
available but traditional face-to-face learning had the power (Tiruneh,
2020). But now online learning is going to be the first option. In many
countries, teaching and learning progress is provided by using a distance
learning method (Varalakshmi & Arunachalam, 2020). Digital learning
management systems such as Google Classroom, and Moodle. Massive
Open Online Course Platforms such as Alison, Coursera, EdX, and
Udemy. Self-directed learning content such as Khan Academy, and
OneCourse (UNESCO, 2020a).
The COVID-19 pandemic has not clear investigation when the virus will
be controlled, but there is an indication it will at for two years and the
virus will occur again and challenge the world. So, the countries should
plan different strategies to continuity the education system through
distance learning. Regarding this, the country designs a strategy to scale
educational technology during pandemics, establish zero-rating
educational resources on the internet, universal service funds and
connecting schools to the internet, prepare online teaching and learning
resources, utilizing free online learning resources, practice mobile
learning, practice radio and television teaching and grow up ICT
infrastructures (Tiruneh, 2020). Then identify each distance learning
challenges and opportunities for children, students, teachers, and
families. This helps to determine and control the bottleneck of online
teaching and learning challenges.
The countries should practice the use of educational technologies at scale
and install ICT infrastructures (Chick et al., 2020). Also, countries enable
the students to access educational websites and applications without
charge because the resources are zero-rated, in another word when the
student access educational websites and applications don’t take data
charges. Using universal service funds to scale internet access for
students, teachers, and societies. But the pandemic is affecting the
availability of funding for education (Niranjan, 2020). So, governments
should design education financing policies and strategies to minimize the
impact (Al-Samarrai et al., 2020). Access to online learning content from
free open educational resources provided by non-profit publishers, and
private companies (Wajdi et al., 2020). Increase the accessibility of
educational resources on mobile phones. The parent should keep track of
their children and avoid bad practices in mobile learning. Use the radio
and television teaching approach, particularly where students can’t
access other technologies at home. Install ICT infrastructure, and
educational technologies to reach students in rural and the most
challenging areas (Tiruneh, 2020). Use virtual classes to promote the
progress and educational achievement of students. This helps to know
about what works, and what doesn’t when it comes to the virtual class.
The virtual class provides real-time interaction between nursing teachers
and students (Ng & Or, 2020).
Education in Developed and Developing Countries
during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the education community. The

authors in (Crawford et al., 2020) discussed and analyzed the intra-
period higher education’s responses of 20 countries in the world. They
decided that to social distancing strategies on higher educations, needs a
rapid curriculum redevelopment for fully online learning. In (Pujari,
2020) stated that due to the closure of school students, teachers, and
parents fare facing various difficulties in India. So, online teaching is a
better solution, feasible, and appropriate but it challenges poor parents
and students. According to UNESCO reports the COVID-19 pandemic has
interrupted the face-to-face class for at least 9 out of 10 students
worldwide. Globally, 195 countries have closed all their schools, affecting
over 1.5 billion students from pre-primary to higher education. In the
worldwide 50% (826 million), 43% (706 million) of students do not have a
computer and internet access at their home respectively. Also, about 56
million students cannot use mobile phones, because they are not covered
by mobile networks. Sub-Saharan Africa Countries, about 89% (216
million), 82% (199 million), and 11% (26 million) of students do not have
a computer, home internet access, and not covered by mobile networks
respectively. Moreover, about 56 million students live in Sub-Saharan
Africa not served by mobile networks. Furthermore, pandemic highlights
the need for more ICT trained teachers. In developing countries, there is
only 1 trained teacher for 56 students in primary education; and it is 1
trained teacher for 60 students (UNESCO, 2020b), (O’Hagan, 2020). This
challenges to continue the education system during the COVID-19
pandemic in developing countries.
The governments of different income level countries are using different
distance learning methods to continue education during school
closures (Vegas, 2020). About 90% of high-income countries are delivered
online learning and 20% are using a combination of broadcast and online
learning. The upper-middle-income countries, over 70% provides a
combination of broadcast and online learning. Also, about 66% of the
lower-middle-income countries provide broadcast and/or online learning.
Low-income countries, less than 25% are delivering education using
television and radio education to their students. For instance, Europe,
Central Asia, East Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean, and Latin America
most countries are providing distance learning via online learning fully
and the combination of broadcast and online learning to teach rural area
students. In the North and Middle East Africa, about 28% of countries are
providing only radio and television teaching, less than 40% provide only
online learning, and 22% are providing a combination of broadcast and
online learning. In South Asia, 40% of countries are providing broadcast
education, and 50% are providing a combination of broadcast and online
learning. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 11% of countries are providing only
online learning, and 23% of countries are providing a combination of
broadcast and online learning (Thomas, 2020). However, low-income and
middle-income countries offering broadcast and online learning are not
reach most students (Winthrop, 2020).
The country’s governments should provide training to teachers on
technology-based education during the COVID-19 crisis. In South Asia,
50% of countries provide training and guidance to teachers. In Europe,
Central Asia, North and Middle East Africa, over 50%, the Caribbean and
Latin America 48%, and 40% in the Pacific and East Asia provide training
to their teachers. But Sub-Saharan Africa countries are not provided
training to their teachers (Vegas, 2020). Finally, the report suggests that
the pandemic will have a very large impact on the education system in the
world. Particularly, the education system in low-income countries will be
the most negatively affected and less able to provide distance learning
and training to teachers (Winthrop, 2020).
 Education System Post-COVID-19

The researchers, curriculum designers, education officers, and

educational institutions work together to transform the education system
during the closures. Educational institutions should design curriculums,
prepare learning strategies and techniques for post-COVID-19, and
transform the education system itself. During closures curriculum
design, collaborations, skill development, and educational institutions
should focus on advancing the education system. After COVID-19, the
school’s design strategies and methods to recover lost learning, ensure
children return to school when schools reopen, preparing students,
parents, and teachers, and to scale distance learning
accessibility (Tiruneh, 2020). School teachers in collaboration with
education officers need to give awareness for parents and students to
make sure that children are safe at home during school closures and
trying to learn and read books as much as possible (Crawford et al.,
2020).
There is inequality among urban and rural students; students from low-
income or high-income and literate or illiterate parents. So that the
education system should design and implement some evidence-based
actions that aim to facilitate the recovery of the lost portion when schools
are reopened. Because of the lack of required support during the school
closures, it could take a very long time for children from illiterate and
low-income parents to recover their missed portion when they return to
school. Some students from low-income parents may decide to work as
daily laborers to support their families financially and may never return
to school when schools reopen. Parents from rural areas may be unwilling
to send their children back to school because they may prefer their
children to continue to support them in cattle herding and farming. The
schools should trace those students who do not return to school and also
even if the countries recover from COVID-19, parents may fear to send
their children back to school so that design strategies to encourage
parents to send their children back to school (Tiruneh, 2020). The
education system needs strategies on how to prepare teachers and
students to respond effectively and efficiently during and after COVID-19.
Teachers may not teach all the time in a face-to-face classroom; students
may not learn in the face-to-face class all the time. When the COVID-19
pandemic is over, the education system needs to prepare everyone to be
flexible and adapt quickly to various learning platforms during a time of
crisis. The global community may need to support the educational
systems in developing countries in their efforts to prepare schools,
teachers, students, and parents for the future (Zhu & Liu, 2020).
 International student mobility

of tertiary students across the

6% OECD are international or

foreign
Remote
This share increases to 22% learning is a
in doctoral programmes poor substitute
for the
experience of
studying
abroad:

THE CRISIS HAS AFFECTED:

continuit
y of Students are missing out on:
learning
international input into foreign
exposure job markets and
networking
safety and legal status
of international
students

students’ perception
of the value of
studying abroad for
their degree
One of the aspects of tertiary education which Education at a Glance
tracks each year is international student flows. This is an area where
future editions of this publication may reveal a sharp reversal of trends
in the year that COVID-19
struck. The global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected
higher education as universities closed their premises and countries shut
their borders in response to lockdown measures. The crisis has affected
the continuity of learning and the delivery of course material, the safety
and legal status of international students in their host countries, and
students’ perception of the value of their degree.

International students were particularly badly hit at the start of the

lockdown as they have had to sort out the implications of university
closures on their status on campus and within their host country.
Students had to decide whether to return home with limited information
about when they might return,
or remain in their host country with restricted employment and
education opportunities, all while sorting out their visa status.
Some countries, such as Canada or the United Kingdom, have
offered leniency around visa rules, or allowed students to remain
on campus (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada,
2020[16]; UKCISA, 2020[17]) but this has not been the case
everywhere.

To ensure the continuity of education despite the lockdown, higher

education institutions have sought to use technology and offer online
classes and learning experiences as a substitute for in-class time.
However, many universities struggled and lacked the experience and
 time they needed to conceive new ways to deliver instruction and
assignments.
Examinations were also affected, causing disruption to students’
learning trajectories and progression. Although many higher education
institutions offered online courses before the pandemic, few students
considered it as the sole alternative to physical in-person learning. For
example, in the United States, only 13% of first-cycle tertiary students
were exclusively
enrolled in distance education courses in 2017 (NCES, 2019[18]). With
the reopening of institutions for the coming academic year
severely compromised and travel likely to remain restricted even after
the confinement period, international students are being forced to deal
with the reality of online learning.

Beyond the transactional learning experience, these students are also

losing out on other benefits of international mobility such as
international exposure, access to a foreign job market and networking.
A survey of EU students studying in the United Kingdom found that
the main reasons for choosing to study abroad were to broaden their
horizons or experience other cultures, improve their labour-market
prospects and
improve their competence in English (West, 2000[19]). Similarly,
the opportunity to live abroad, learn or improve a foreign language and
meet new people, were among the three top reasons cited by students
participating in the EU-ERASMUS programme (European Comission,
2014[20]).
A decrease in the share of international students may, in turn, have
severe repercussions on the funding model of some higher education
institutions where international students pay higher tuition fees than
domestic ones. Countries such as Australia, Canada, the United
Kingdom and the United States that rely heavily on international
students paying differentiated fees will suffer the greatest losses. For
instance, at the bachelor’s or equivalent level, public institutions in
Australia, Canada and the United States charged foreign students over
USD 13 900 more per year than national students on average in
2017/18. Given the large share of international students
in these countries, international student inflows provide an important
source of revenue for tertiary institutions. In
Australia, the estimated revenue from foreign students’ tuition fees
exceeds one-quarter of the total expenditure on tertiary educational
institutions (OECD, 2017[21]).

Perhaps most importantly, the crisis has exposed the value proposition
of universities. Students are unlikely to
commit large amounts of time and money to consume online content.
Students go to universities to meet great people, have inspiring
conversations with faculty, collaborate with researchers in the
laboratory and experience the social
life on campus. To remain relevant, universities will need to reinvent
learning environments so that digitalisation
expands and complements, but does not replace, student- teacher and
student-student relationships. Students are already demanding a
partial refund of their tuition fees and many institutions have made
pro-rata refunds on room and board, or have offered fee deferrals. With
the enrolment of international students for the next academic year
severely compromised, this will cut into universities’ bottom line,
affecting not only their core education services, but also the financial
support they provide domestic students, as well as research and
development activities.
 FIDINGS

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected educational systems worldwide,

leading to the near-total closures of schools, universities and colleges.
Most governments decided to temporarily close educational institutions
in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19. As of 12 January
2021, approximately 825 million learners are currently affected due to
school closures in response to the pandemic. According
to UNICEF monitoring, 23 countries are currently implementing
nationwide closures and 40 are implementing local closures, impacting
about 47 percent of the world's student population. 112 countries'
schools are currently open.
On 23 March 2020, Cambridge International Examinations (CIE)
released a statement announcing the cancellation of Cambridge IGCSE,
Cambridge O Level, Cambridge International AS & A Level, Cambridge
AICE Diploma, and Cambridge Pre-U examinations for the May/June
2020 series across all countries.[6] International Baccalaureate exams
have also been cancelled.[7] In addition, Advanced
Placement Exams, SAT administrations, and ACT administrations have
been moved online and cancelled.
School closures impact not only students, teachers, and families.[8] but
have far-reaching economic and societal consequences.[9][10]
[11] School closures in response to the pandemic have shed light on
various social and economic issues, including student debt,[  digital
learning, food insecurity, and homelessness,[1][17] as well as access
to childcare, health care, housing, internet, and disability services. The
impact was more severe for disadvantaged children and their families,
causing interrupted learning, compromised nutrition, childcare
problems, and consequent economic cost to families who could not
work.
In response to school closures, UNESCO recommended the use
of distance learning programmes and open educational
applications and platforms that schools and teachers can use to reach
learners remotely and limit the disruption of education.

Efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 through non-pharmaceutical

interventions and preventive measures such as social-distancing and self-
isolation have prompted the widespread closure of primary, secondary,
and tertiary schooling in over 100 countries.[26]
Previous outbreaks of infectious diseases have prompted widespread
school closings around the world, with varying levels of effectiveness. [27]
[28][29] Mathematical modelling has shown that transmission of an

outbreak may be delayed by closing schools. [30] However, effectiveness

depends on the contacts children maintain outside of school. [31]
[32] School closures appear effective in decreasing cases and deaths,

particularly when enacted promptly.[33] If school closures occur late

relative to an outbreak, they are less effective and may not have any
impact at all.[27][28] Additionally, in some cases, the reopening of
schools after a period of closure has resulted in increased infection rates.
[34] As closures tend to occur concurrently with other interventions

such as public gathering bans, it can be difficult to measure the specific

impact of school closures.[34]
During the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic in the United States, school closures and
public gathering bans were associated with lower total mortality rates.
[28] Cities that implemented such interventions earlier had greater

delays in reaching peak mortality rates.[35][34] Schools closed for a

median duration of 4 weeks according to a study of 43 US cities'
response to the Spanish Flu.[35] School closures were shown to
reduce morbidity from the Asian flu by 90% during the 1957–58 outbreak,
[36] and up to 50% in controlling influenza in the US, 2004–2008. [37]
Multiple countries successfully slowed the spread of infection through
school closures during the 2009 H1N1 Flu pandemic. School closures in the
city of Oita, Japan, were found to have successfully decreased the number
of infected students at the peak of infection; however closing schools
was not found to have significantly decreased the total number of
infected students.[38] Mandatory school closures and other social
distancing measures were associated with a 29% to 37% reduction in
influenza transmission rates.[39] Early school closures in the United
States delayed the peak of the 2009 H1N1 Flu pandemic.[27] Despite the
overall success of closing schools, a study of school closures in
Michigan found that "district level reactive school closures were
ineffective."[40]
During the swine flu outbreak in 2009 in the UK, in an article titled "Closure of
schools during an influenza pandemic" published in the Lancet Infectious
Diseases, a group of epidemiologists endorsed the closure of schools in

order to interrupt the course of the infection, slow further spread and
buy time to research and produce a vaccine. [41] Having studied previous
influenza pandemics including the 1918 flu pandemic, the influenza pandemic of
1957 and the 1968 flu pandemic, they reported on the economic and workforce

effect school closure would have, particularly with a large percentage of

doctors and nurses being women, of whom half had children under the
age of 16. They also looked at the dynamics of the spread of influenza
in France during French school holidays and noted that cases of flu
dropped when schools closed and re-emerged when they re-opened.
They noted that when teachers in Israel went on strike during the flu season of
1999–2000, visits to doctors and the number of respiratory infections

dropped by more than a fifth and more than two fifths respectively.
The petrifying and severe impact of COVID-19 has shaken the world to
its core. Further, most of the Governments around the world have
temporarily closed educational institutions in an attempt to contain the
spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. In India too, the government as a
part of the nationwide lockdown has closed all educational institutions,
as a consequence of which, learners ranging from school going children
to postgraduate students, are affected.

These nationwide closures are impacting over 91% of the worlds'

student population. Several other countries have implemented localized
closures impacting millions of additional learners. UNESCO is
supporting countries in their efforts to mitigate the immediate impact of
school closures, particularly for more vulnerable and disadvantaged
communities, and to facilitate the continuity of education for all
through remote learning. The UNESCO report estimates that the
coronavirus pandemic will adversely impact over 290 million students
across 22 countries. The UNESCO estimates that about 32 crores
students are affected in India, including those in schools and colleges. 

Therefore, the government has come up with e-learning program. Many

ed-tech firms have tried to leverage the occasion by offering free online
classes or attractive discounts on e-learning modules. These measures
have been met with overwhelming response by students with some
startups witnessing as high as 25% uptick in e-learning. Remote
learning seems a viable solution to students during this time as they
offer convenient, on -the- go and affordable access to lessons. E-
learning also comes as an interesting and interactive alternative as
compared to classroom teaching.

Nevertheless, Covid-19 has prompted experts to rethink the

conventional mode of education. Digital education appears to be a
viable solution to fill in the void for classroom education for a period of
three to four months while minimizing the chances of any infection to
students until classes resume. More importantly, it has also brought
the hitherto peripheral issue of digital education in India to the centre
stage. Going forward, digital education is likely to be integrated into
mainstream education. This will enable inclusive education by
facilitating learning across diverse geographies in India. Moreover, it
will provide an opportunity for educators to come up with customized
learning solutions for every student.

A complete revolution in the way we learn today has been brought

about by Technology. Each student gets in contact with a world-class
education, which is not easy to impart by the traditional white chalk
and blackboard method of teaching. This new learning is more
interesting, personalized and enjoyable. A massive open online course
(MOOC) is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open
access via the web. India is considered to be the biggest market for
MOOCs in the world after the USA. Since the population of India is
huge, massive open online course (MOOC) is said to open gateways for
a lot of Indians in terms of bringing an educational revolution. Online
distant learning programs give a great opportunity to avail high-quality
learning with the help of internet connectivity.

Digital learning has many advantages in itself like digital learning has
no physical boundaries, it has more learning engagement experience
rather than the traditional learning, it is also cost-effective and
students get to learn in the confines of their comfort zone. However,
digital learning is not without its limitations and challenges, since face-
to-face interaction is usually perceived as the best form of
communication as compared to the rather impersonalized nature of
remote learning. Globally, online education has met with some success.
In the case of India, we still have a long way to go before digital learning
is seen as mainstream education, because students living in urban area
have the facilities to opt for digital education, however, rural area
students do not have the required infrastructure nor are financially
strong to avail the resources required for digital education. Building of
the digital education infrastructure by the Government of India
presently appears to be difficult due to lack of budget.  Further, even if
the digital infrastructure is built, training has to be given to the
teachers to use the digital system to provide authentic and proper,
uninterrupted and seamless education to the students. Remote learning
increasingly relies on the reliable power supply and ubiquitous Internet
connectivity which might be a far- fetched thing for Tier 2 and Tier 3
cities in India.
Another challenge is that e-learning comes across as somewhat patchy
and impersonal experience. Also, e-learning is likely to witness a high
dropout rate due to the lack of atmosphere for studying. Students
might tend to get distracted by gaming consoles, social media at home
and might not feel a sense of community while taking online classes.
Successful delivery of education is also in question because learning at
the level of higher education and learning at the kindergarten/school
level can be different. Digital education cannot be applied the same at
every level of the education.
If we further up the light on the educational material, digital education
will have a limited scope as compared with the written and handy
material which is provided in an educational institute. Moreover, the
authentication of the educational material is at stake. E-learning will
always provide the students with different information in different ways.
So, the authenticity of the educational material should be tested before
these materials are circulated with the students. Creation of content,
dissemination of content and evaluation of content should be done.
Blended education has to come face to face and distance education
should go hand in hand currently. Educational data circulated in online
should be properly maintained. Because ultimately these digital
educational course classes will also lead to hacking systems and
intruders coming in. The digital safety challenge will remain at large
while imparting education.

Due to the outbreak of the pandemic, the work from home (WFH)
culture is booming in India. As social distancing is prescribed as the
best way to curb the spread of COVID 19, companies are faced with an
unprecedented challenge of ensuring it is business as usual even if
everyone is working remotely. Therefore, not only businessmen or start-
ups in India have opted for an online platform like Zoom App to stay
connected with their employees who are working from their homes but
also the educational institutions have opted for different digital
platforms to facilitate learning for their students. However, only
educational institutions in urban areas can provide those facilities.
Again the questions are raised for the learners in rural areas, the
educational systems in rural areas and their growth.

With so many different ways to define e-learning and the educational

approaches that can be taken in these learning environments, many
colleges and extra curriculum activity classes have started making use
of the technology. Through applications such as Zoom, various colleges
especially engineering and designing colleges of Pune have undertaken
the task of educating students through video conferencing. Undeterred
by the security concerns which such video conferencing applications
may pose, these applications are widely used and have proved to be
beneficial and with a lot of advantages. There is picture, sound clarity
which makes imparting of knowledge and learning effective for both the
instructor and the student.
But at the same time, there is a glaring disadvantage as exams have to
be postponed. Examinations cannot be conducted online. It is not only
just the question of imparting continuous and uninterrupted learning
during the outbreak of COVID 19 pandemic but also the most
important challenge for the instructor is to focus on the overall
elements of a well-developed course. Developing a purposeful and well-
defined online course, which supports the instructor and learner,
means devoting the appropriate time and embedding the applicable
course elements into the e-learning environment. Through the use of
technology, we can, if not provide a strong alternative to the
conventional education system, mitigate and compensate for the
impediments posed and inconvenience caused due to COVID 19
pandemic to the education system and learners by extension. Learning,
as they say, is a continuous and ever-evolving process. The educational
institutions in India, from schools to universities, can use this present
adversity as a blessing in disguise and make digital education a major
part of the learning process for all learners in the future.
 Hazard controls
For schools and childcare facilities, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention recommends short-term closure to clean or disinfect if an
infected person has been in a school building regardless of community
spread. When there is minimal to moderate community
transmission, social distancing  strategies can be implemented such as
postponing or cancelling  field trips, assemblies, and other large
gatherings such as physical education  or choir classes or meals in a
cafeteria, increasing the space between desks, staggering arrival and
dismissal times, limiting nonessential visitors, and using a separate
health office location for children with flu-like symptoms. When there is
substantial transmission in the local community, in addition to social
distancing strategies, extended school dismissals may be considered.[43]
As the pandemic progresses, schools may continue with remote learning
or decide to reopen. Strategies such as cohorting, rotating schedules,
eating lunch in the classroom, and utilizing outdoor spaces are some
ways to minimize close contact.[44]  Additional precautions include face
masks, hand sanitizer stations, rearranging classrooms to enable
physical distancing, and frequent cleaning.[45]  The CDC made a School
Decision Tree to aid administrators in the planning process for reopening.
[46]  The American Academy of Pediatrics urges re-entry policies need to
be flexible and responsive as new information about the virus emerges.
[47]
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine states
that in-person instruction for grades K-5 and students with special needs
should be prioritized to prevent children from falling behind.[45]  Younger
children are at higher risk of suffering from long-term academic
consequences and developmental deficits without in-person learning.
 Academic integrity

The impact on academic integrity has been observed around the

world.  A rise in contract cheating and academic file-sharing, and
exam cheating  were identified as particularly problematic.  Due to the
fact that learning is mostly remote since the start of COVID-19 in March,
cheating has become far easier for students.  There is no remorse from
students since attitudes have shifted away from prioritizing education
over other things.
Many institutions turned to commercial services to take over  exam
proctoring, but almost immediately concerns were raised[60] about
student privacy,  surveillance,  and the impact on student mental health.
The lack of student to teacher interaction has also led students to feel
less passionate about the integrity of their work. This leaves students to
turn in half-completed assignments, get the answers from their friends in
class, or turn in nothing at all simply because education has become less
important due to COVID-19
 Measures to continue students’
learning during school closure

Countries used a variety Online platforms were used in

of remote learning nearly all OECD and partner
resources: countries. These tools included:
instructional
packages
Educational content
radio and for exploring if
desired
television
education
Real-time lessons
on virtual meeting
platforms

online Online support

instructional services for parents
resources and students

Self-paced
formalised
lessons

Countries used a variety of resources to support students’ learning while

they were unable to come to school, including instructional packages
(textbooks, worksheets and printouts), radio education, educational
television and online instructional resources. Countries usually used
several tools in order to reach the largest proportion of students possible.
In the OECD and partner countries, online platforms were the most
popular tool used during school closures (Schleicher and Reimers,
2020[27]).

Online platforms were used in nearly all OECD and partner countries.
Online learning tools ranged from educational content which students
could explore at their own discretion and formalised learning
programmes conducted at their own pace, to real-time lessons led by
their teachers using virtual meeting platforms. For example, Estonia
collaborated with private services to provide a wealth of educational
content free to students during school closure. In France, already-existing
distance learning programme “Ma classe
à la maison” (My classes at home) became available for all students in
primary and secondary schools (Ministère de
l’Éducation Nationale et de la Jeunesse, 2020[28]). In Greece, teachers
conducted virtual real-time classes in conjunction
with other online learning tools (Ministry of Education and Religious
Affairs, 2020[29]; Schleicher and Reimers, 2020[27]).

Another popular learning arrangement in many OECD countries were

television broadcasts providing educational content to continue students’
learning. In some countries, TV programmes mostly catered for younger
children in primary schools (for example, in Greece, Korea and Portugal),
who may have had difficulty using online learning platforms or
conducting self-directed learning. TV broadcasts are also a way to reach
students who do not have adequate resources for online instruction.
Despite these advantages, broadcasts can be limited to covering only a
few subjects due to the short amount of time devoted to these TV
programmes. For example, two channels in Spain covered one of five
subjects (Spanish, mathematics, social science, natural sciences and arts
and/or physical education) per day during a one-hour
slot (Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, 2020[30]; Schleicher
and Reimers, 2020[27]).

Other measures were also used to help students learn at home. For
example in Luxembourg, the government set up a new support system for
students and parents to support home schooling. In Mexico, a telephone
line “Your Teacher Online” has been activated to offer mentoring to
students (OECD, 2020[26]).

In the majority of the OECD and partner countries, these measures were
conducted by the government with active involvement from individual
schools. However, in Estonia, Finland, Japan and the Netherlands,
individual schools had more autonomy in organising these alternative
education arrangements (Schleicher and Reimers, 2020[27]).
During the pandemic, remote learning became a lifeline for education but
the opportunities that digital technologies offer go well beyond a stopgap
solution during a crisis. Digital technology offers entirely new answers to
the question of what people learn, how they learn, and where and when
they learn. Technology can enable teachers and students to access
specialised materials well beyond textbooks, in
multiple formats and in ways that can bridge time and space. Working
alongside teachers, intelligent digital learning systems don’t just teach
students science, but can simultaneously observe how they study, the
kind of tasks and thinking that interest them, and the kind of problems
that they find boring or difficult. The systems can then adapt the learning
experience to suit students’ personal learning styles with great
granularity and precision. Similarly, virtual laboratories can give
students the opportunity to design, conduct and learn from experiments,
rather than just learning about them.

Moreover, technology does not just change methods of teaching and

learning, it can also elevate the role of teachers from imparting received
knowledge towards working as co-creators of knowledge, as coaches, as
mentors and as evaluators.

That being said, the COVID-19 crisis struck at a point when most of the
education systems covered by the OECD’s 2018 round of the Programme
for International Student Assessment (PISA) were not ready for the world
of digital learning opportunities. A quarter of school principals across the
OECD said that shortages or inadequacy of digital technology was
hindering learning quite a bit or a lot, a figure that ranged from
2% in Singapore to 30% in France and Italy (OECD, 2019[31]).
Those figures may even understate the problem, as not all principals will
be aware of the opportunities for instruction that modern technology can
provide.

Technology is also only as good as its use. According to OECD’s Teaching

and Learning International Survey (TALIS) in 2018 just 53% of teachers
on average let their students frequently or always use information and
communication technologies (ICT) for projects or classwork (Figure 4).
However, in Denmark and New Zealand the share reaches 80% or more,
and in Finland, Israel or Romania those numbers have more than
doubled over the five years leading up to the survey.
According to TALIS, younger teachers use technology more frequently in
the classroom, but so too do teachers for whom technology was included
in their formal training. However, only 60% of teachers received
professional development in ICT in the year preceding the survey, while
18% reported a high need for development in this area.
These figures highlight that teachers need to renew their skills regularly
in order to be able to innovate their practices and adapt to the rapid
transformations inherent in the 21st century. This is even more important
in the current context, where the COVID-19 health crisis has pushed
teachers to adapt very quickly, especially in countries where they do not
necessarily have the pedagogical and technical skills to integrate digital
tools into learning.

Data from TALIS provide insights into the frequency and intensity of
teachers’ continued professional development before the outbreak as well
as their readiness to engage in distance learning. The data show that, on
average, teachers attended about 4 different types of continuous
professional development activities in the 12 months prior to the survey,
and 82% of teachers report that the professional development activities
they participated in had an impact on their teaching practices (OECD,
2019[32]).

While most teachers participate in professional development, the

programmes they enrol in are not always the ones they find most
valuable. According to teachers, the professional development
programmes that have the most impact are those based on strong subject
and curriculum content which involve collaborative approaches to
instruction, as well as the incorporation of active learning (OECD,
2019[32]). However, teachers are more likely to participate in courses or
seminars than more collaborative forms of professional development. On
average across OECD countries, 76% of lower secondary teachers
reporting attending courses or seminars in person, while only 44% of
teachers participated in peer and/or
self-observation and coaching as part of a formal school arrangement.

ICT skills are particularly important given the radical shift towards online
teaching during the COVID-19 lockdown in many OECD countries. Even
before the crisis, teachers reported a strong need for training in the use of
ICT for teaching, with 18% on average across OECD countries identifying
this as a high training need (OECD, 2019[32]). This is the second
commonest training need teachers identified, just after teaching special
needs students. However, not only are teachers reporting a need for ICT
training, they are also not relying on distance learning for their own
professional development. Data on professional development show that
on average across OECD countries, 36% of lower secondary teachers
reported participating in online courses or seminars, less than half the
share participating in courses or seminars in person. Although this is the
case in most countries, there are some exceptions such as Korea and
Shanghai (People’s Republic of China) where over 90% of teachers
reported undertaking online professional development in the past year.
This practice is also widespread in Australia, Chinese Taipei, England
(United Kingdom), Israel, Mexico, the Russian Federation and the United
States, where the share is over 50%.
A survey recently conducted by the OECD and Harvard University on the
education conditions faced in countries and on the approaches adopted
to sustain educational opportunity during the pandemic has found that
the learning that has taken place during the period when schools were
closed
was at best only a small proportion of what students would
have learned in school (Schleicher and Reimers, 2020[27]). The period of
learning at home has made visible the many benefits that students gain
from being able to learn in close contact with their teachers and peers,
and with full access
with the wide variety of educational, social and health-related services
which schools offer. This public awareness of the importance of schools
and of teachers could be strategically deployed to increase engagement
and support from parents and communities for schools and for teachers.
This will be particularly important in the current context as the health
and economic costs of the pandemic risk reducing the funds available to
education.

There are unquestionable benefits to reopening educational institutions in

terms of supporting the development of knowledge and skills among
students and increasing their economic contribution over the longer term.
In fact, the learning loss which has already taken place, if left
unremedied, is likely to exact an economic toll on societies in the form of
reduced productivity and growth. Reopening schools will also bring
economic benefits to families
by enabling them to return to work, once public health authorities deem
that this is feasible.

Those benefits, however, must be carefully weighed against the health

risks and sanitary measures needed to minimise the health impact of the
pandemic. Evidence from previous epidemics suggests that school
closures can prevent up
to 15% of infections (OECD, 2020[33]). While this impact
is modest compared with other public policy measures (for instance
workplace social distancing can reduce transmission by up to 73%, case
isolation by around 45%
and household quarantine by around 40%), it is not negligible. In some
countries there are also high levels of interaction between the youngest
children and the older generations most at risk from the virus.
The need to consider such trade-offs calls for sustained and
effective co-ordination between education and public health
authorities at different levels of government. Such
collaboration should be enhanced through local participation
and autonomy that enable responses to be tailored to
the context. Many respondents to the OECD/Harvard study
indicate that the plans are for schools to reopen progressively,
beginning in areas with the lowest rates of transmission and
lowest localised risk (Schleicher and Reimers, 2020[27]).
After mid-April, some OECD countries gradually started to
reopen schools. By the end of May, more than two months after
the school closures began in most OECD countries, schools were
reopened (at least partially) in two-thirds of OECD countries
(UNESCO, 2020[24]; Schleicher and Reimers, 2020[27]).
Younger students were the first to return to school in Denmark
(childcare and primary schools with additional
measures such as reduced class sizes and physical distancing),
France (primary schools in most regions with limitations on the
number of children in a classroom), the Netherlands (primary
schools) and Norway (kindergarten and grades 1 to 4 in
primary schools with additional measures such as reduced
class sizes and physical distancing). In contrast, schools
reopened first for older students in Greece and Korea,
especially for final year students who were sitting secondary
school qualification examinations or entrance examinations for
tertiary education. However, in Ireland,
Italy, Lithuania, Portugal (except grades 11 and 12) and Spain
(except for grades 10 and 12, where attendance will be
voluntary) the plans were for primary and secondary schools
to be closed until June (inclusive), that is to say the end of the
school year 2019/20 (OECD, 2020[26]; Schleicher and Reimers,
2020[27]; UNESCO, 2020[24]).

Several steps can be taken to manage the risks and trade- offs.
First of all, it is important to develop clear protocols on physical
distancing measures, including avoiding activities that require
large gatherings, staggering the start and end of the school day,
staggering meal times, moving classes to temporary spaces or
outdoors, and having students attend
in shifts to reduce class size. Equally important are protocols
and practice on hygiene measures, including handwashing,
respiratory etiquette, use of protective equipment, cleaning
procedures for facilities and safe food preparation practices.
It is just as important to protect teachers, administrative staff
and students who are at high risk due to age or underlying
medical conditions, with plans to cover absent teachers and
continue remote education to support students unable to attend
school. Governments and teacher organisations may also need
to revise personnel and attendance policies to accommodate
health-related absences and support remote and hybrid
learning combining online and on-site teaching.
Investment in human capacity will be central to this. School
leaders need to have the capacity and training to establish
procedures for when students or staff become unwell, and to
put in place partial or complete school closures where needed.
They need to be able to conduct a risk assessment for teachers
and other staff and take appropriate action to support them.
Effective guidance and procedures are needed for monitoring
student and staff health, maintaining regular contact with local
health authorities, and updating emergency plans and contact
lists. When students enter school premises, their temperature
may need to be taken and infected students isolated and cared
for by specialised medical staff, without stigmatising them.
Teachers, too, may need to be tested before the school reopens
and the health and sanitary managers of schools should take
the temperature of teachers when they enter the premises.

Similarly, administrative and teaching staff need training on

how to cope with the virus, to recognise risks and to implement
appropriate measures. This includes implementing physical
distancing and hygiene practices, such as increasing both the
intensity and frequency of cleaning and disinfection activities
and improving waste management practices. Cleaning staff
need to be trained in disinfection and be equipped with
personal protection equipment as far as possible.
As schools reopen, there are two significant opportunities to
seize, building on plans which many of the respondents to this
survey indicate are already in the making. The first is to take
stock of the lessons learned in this crisis as children
return to school and to assess the learning loss. This exercise in
student assessment should focus not just on the extent to which
students gained the knowledge and skills intended in the
curriculum, but also on what skills and competencies they
demonstrated, or failed to demonstrate, during the period of
remote learning. Effective learning out of school has clearly
placed greater demands on students’ autonomy, capacity for
independent learning, executive functioning, self-monitoring and
capacity to learn on line. These are all essential skills for the
present and the future. It is likely that some students were
more proficient in them than others and that, as a result, were
able
to learn more than their peers while not in school. The plans to
return to school should therefore focus on more intentional
efforts to cultivate these essential skills among all students.

The second, which is equally important, will be to build on the

already ongoing efforts to develop the infrastructure for online
and remote learning, and to continue to develop the capacity of
students and teachers to learn and teach in that way. This is
essential first because there is a possibility that, until a vaccine
is widely available, any return to school may have to be again
interrupted as a result of future outbreaks, at least locally. But
beyond COVID-19 pandemic, there are evident benefits to
students in expanding their learning time and opportunities
beyond the school gate by being able to learn using a variety of
distance learning approaches. Plans for school reopening could
consider blended modalities to allow all students to access the
curriculum.
 Limitation of the study

There are some limitations to our study that should be noted.

The first limitation is the sampling technique used. It relies on
digital infrastructure and voluntary participation that increases
selection bias. The imposed travel restrictions limited the
outreach to students who do not have access to online learning.
Second, the study is obtained from one specific area, given the
lockdown orders and the online medium of classes, we expect
these results to be fairly generalizable for schools and
universities nationwide. Another limitation of this study is the
cross-sectional design of the survey, there was no follow-up
period for the participants.
Conclusion

As we enter the COVID-19 recovery phase, it will be critical to

reflect on the role of educational systems – and particularly
vocational education – in fostering resilient societies. The global
health crisis and the lockdown that followed have brought to
the fore professions that have often been taken for granted,
renewing our awareness of their value to society. This has
helped restore a sense of esteem for those workers who have
worked relentlessly during this time to keep economies afloat.

The outlook is very uncertain. But, if anything, the pandemic

has exposed our vulnerability to crises and revealed how
precarious and interdependent the economies we have built can
be. Disruptions on the scale we have just witnessed are not
limited to pandemics, but may also result from natural, political,
economic and environmental disorder. Our capacity to react
effectively and efficiently in the future will hinge

on governments’ foresight, readiness and preparedness.

Through their role in developing the competencies and skills
needed for tomorrow’s society, education systems will need to
be at the heart of this planning. This includes rethinking how
the economy should evolve to guard against adversity, and
defining the skills, education and training required to support it.
This also means working in close collaboration with other
government sectors and the private sector to increase the
attractiveness and labour-market prospects of certain
professions, including those considered paramount for the
common good.

Real change often takes place in deep crises, and this moment
holds the possibility that we won’t return to the status quo
when things return to “normal”. While this crisis has deeply
disruptive implications, including for education, it does not have
predetermined outcomes. It will be the nature of our collective
and systemic responses to these disruptions that will determine
how we are affected by them.

In this sense, the pandemic is also a call to renew the

commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals. Ensuring
that all young people have the opportunity to succeed at school
and develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that
will allow them to contribute to society is at the heart

of the global agenda and education’s promise to our future

society. The current crisis has tested our ability to deal with
large-scale disruptions. It is now up to us to build as its legacy
a more resilient society.