The Gift of Learning: Lessons Learnt in Education during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” ~ William Butler Yeats

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

The Covid-19 Pandemic has led us to a new era in the realm of education. Within the span of a few months, we were required to unlearn our preconceived notions about online education not being as effective or ‘original’ as classroom interaction, and make the most of our resources by learning to explore new possibilities to enhance both the teaching, as well as the learning experience. It hasn’t been a smooth sail though, and the transition has cost some of us dearer than the others. Let’s gain more insight into this with some research.

From the onset of the Lockdown from 16th March 2020 and the beginning of the academic year in June, Higher Education Institutions, the MHRD and the UGC have reacted positively and adopted virtual learning strategies like online depositories, e-books, and educational channels and teaching slots on television as well as on Radio. Social Media apps like WhatsApp, Google Meet, Zoom, YouTube Live and Facebook Live have proved to be instrumental in widening the horizon of Online Education (Jena, 2020). Some of these initiatives include e-Gyankosh (a repository of digital learning resources), Gyandhara (an IGNOU initiative to make discussions and lectures more accessible to students throughout India), Gyandarshan (a similar online TV channel), Swayam (MOOCs) for online courses and the National Digital Library of India (NDLI) to name a few.

According to this study, the Covid-19 period has led to some futuristic trends in education. One such trend is the emergence of personalized learning that is specially tailored to cater to each student’s needs. Blended learning or a mix of synchronous and asynchronous education will soon become the order of the day. Even after the crisis has passed over, many parents may prefer online education to physical classroom learning due to safety concerns and this may lead to a significant drop in attendance rates (Jena, 2020). This scenario may also throw a greater emphasis on other portals of online learning that may not be directly related to education like Skillshare, Udemy, WhiteHat and so on.

At the same time, a report by Emma Garcia and Elaine Weiss on ‘Student Performance, Equity and U.S. Education Policy’ sheds light on the inefficiency of remote education in catering to the needs of students who live in areas that don’t have constant access to the Internet. Not only is education impeded for these students, but even children who are home-schooled may not receive education that is specially curated for their learning styles and attitudes, and this may prevent them from optimizing these options. A lack of in-class interaction may lead to a significant gap in the social development of students, while hastily reduced curriculums may be counter-productive, and need to be remedied as soon as the schools reopen (Garcia, Weiss 2020). Since, social co-operation, age-specific and holistic educational activities and teacher-student interaction are important aspects of successful learning, this is a serious global issue when it comes to remote education.

On the flipside of this seemingly well-functioning system, we can see the emergence of some glaring disparities. It’s said that every catastrophe is a great leveler; it occurs to each one of us, regardless of our social standing or bank accounts. Well, every such catastrophe is also a ruthless divider because even when life throws unexpected challenges our way, the more privileged or fortunate ones among us manage to escape relatively unscathed, while the others bear the brunt of it. It’s no different in the case of education. We know from previous such crises that developing countries like India, find it most difficult to recover from the educational, economic and social devastation caused by these unexpected disasters. In a study conducted by the Azim Premji University in 2017, the indirect impact of such disasters may include a marked increase in child labor, exclusion of children from families facing economic distress and sometimes, child trafficking.

There is also a profound inequity in making education accessible to different regional groups and especially migrant and daily-wage workers. In a conversation we had with an NGO that caters to orphans and the children of these social groups, we realized that the benefits of Digital India could only be extended to these children if there are proper devices and stable electricity and Internet. Attendance in these NGO run schools and Government schools that are comparatively poorer is seen to drop down by more than 60%. Though virtual classrooms in Maharashtra and throughout India have started becoming a political and social initiative, their benefits can only be reaped by first establishing subsidized electricity networks and making devices more accessible to these children. Despite our early attempts to make education free and accessible to all, this pandemic has further stretched the gap between high-income and low-income students.

Photo by Rohit Farmer on Unsplash

The only way to reduce this gap is through awareness and conscious effort. In spite of the looming uncertainty and soul-breaking social events that have unfortunately become a part of our lockdown experience, it is heartening to see how much altruism and humanity has blossomed over the months through the endeavors of various NGO’s, youth organizations and religious institutions. Most of these organizations focus on fulfilling the basic needs of the underprivileged, for instance, providing them with subsidized grains and other essentials.

However, as we know, empowering oneself with a solid education is not a luxury, but a necessity in ensuring a life that is true to one’s own dreams and ambitions.

Let’s join hands in making this ‘gift of learning’ accessible to everyone!

References

1. Sharma, A. (2020, June 10). COVID-19 Lockdown Lessons and the Need to Reconsider/Draft New Education Policy. The Wire. https://thewire.in/education/covid-19-lockdown-lessons-and-the-need-to-reconsider-draft-new-education-policy

2. Jena, P. K. (2020). Impact of pandemic COVID-19 on education in India. Research Gate. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/2kasu

3. Garcia, E., Weiss, E. (2020, September 10). COVID-19 and student performance, equity, and U.S. education policy: Lessons from pre-pandemic research to inform relief, recovery, and rebuilding. Economic Policy Institute. https://www.epi.org/publication/the-consequences-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-for-education-performance-and-equity-in-the-united-states-what-can-we-learn-from-pre-pandemic-research-to-inform-relief-recovery-and-rebuilding/