Imagine if a few years ago the pandemic was not there and everything was

normal. There were no online classes and everything was conducted in the
usual way quite contradictory to our new normal right. No one would have
guessed that a virus-like Covid-19 would come and without differentiating, it
would alter the lifestyle of people around the world. Due to Covid-19, many
changes came to our world and It took some time for everyone to adopt to the
new normal if we may call it. Greetings everyone, Thank You So Much for
having me here today with a heavy heart I’ll be talking to you about the
Impacts of COVID 19 on educational sphere. When the World Health
Organization declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic on 11 March 2020, few
could have foreseen the catastrophic effects the virus would have on the
sphere of education. During the first 12 months of the pandemic, lockdowns
led to 1.5 billion students in 188 countries being unable to attend educational
institutes in person, causing lasting effects on the education of an entire
generation. Although many Institutes closures were announced as temporary
measures, these shutdowns persisted throughout 2020 – and even beyond in
most cases. During the pandemic, there was a stark decline in education
quality across the country as not only the students but the teachers too were
unprepared for virtual classroom interactions. The pandemic had drastic effects
on schools, colleges, students, teachers, and parents altogether and inspite of
the new online learning platform that it provided it also increased social
inequality as students from more advantageous backgrounds attended online
classes with better digital infrastructure whereas the students who lacked the
resources to assess technology ran a lost race. Some Institutes in this regard
were better equipped with digital technology and educational resources which
extended it's dynamics to it's students and provided them with devices to
assess the online classes with the aid of the Government and also the
corporate sector. However, it is still a matter of concern that most of the
disadvantaged students are attended schools and colleges with lower ICT
infrastructure and educational resources. Schools in particular in the
disadvantaged, rural areas especially the one’s aided by Government lacked the
appropriate digital infrastructure to deliver the required teaching at remote as
there was a significant difference between private and public schools in the
level of funding that they received. In most scenarios, private schools were
more effective than public schools in providing distance learning but it was the
economic incapability of the masses that keep them away from assessing the
facilities of the private. Another major concern was the availability of study
resources. Not all the study material was available through online mode.
Several offline materials are usually available in the library but not in the online
database. A student was being deprived of this material. Furthermore, the
educational institutions, which had decided to conduct online examinations,
faced difficulty in preparing question papers. The question papers were mostly
multiple choices that did not give the student a window to write descriptive
answers, which are equally crucial for a student to learn and improve the
writing skills. In the light of the Indian scenario we can bring into focus the
cancellation of the board examinations and also the various entrance
examinations during the pandemic years which utterly deprived the students of
an important life experience and in a way played with their credibility to
achieve their ultimate potential in the educational sphere. This bold step has
not only kept them deprived from an important experience but has also
hampered their higher studies because of the lack of foundation that these
exams provide. As we analyse the cost of the pandemic, we use the term
“unfinished learning” to capture the reality that students were not given the
opportunity to complete all the learning they would have completed. Some
students who have disengaged from school altogether may have slipped
backward, losing knowledge or skills they once had. The majority simply
learned less than they would have in a typical year, but this is nonetheless
important. Students who move on to the next grade unprepared are missing
key building blocks of knowledge that are necessary for success, while students
who repeat a year are much less likely to complete high school and move on to
college. And it’s not just academic knowledge these students may miss out on.
They are at risk of finishing school without the skills, behaviours and mindsets
to succeed in college or in the workforce.
To conclude my analysis I would say that the pandemic situation has adversely
affected several sectors, but the education sector has had both advantages and
disadvantages. The virus outbreak has negatively influenced other areas; the
education sector has been able to sustain and has shown its advantages.
Especially when we talk about digital education, it has proved to be a saviour of
the entire education system. However, it cannot be avoided that
this digitalization has come up with its limitations. It has its pros and cons, such
as home confinement, blocked socialization, unequal opportunities etc. Hence
in the epidemic situation, the quality of learning and outcome is adversely
affected in some teaching areas, which further opens the door to more
advanced education reformed by policymakers and government. Therefore, a
futuristic approach to implementing such an education system needs much
planning to provide a better learning platform.