Col Shiv Choudhary (Retd)
Covid-19 has emerged as the biggest disruption to education ever recorded, affecting nearly 1.6 billion students in more than 190 countries, most of them in schools. Close to 250 million children in India have been physically away from schools for about an year now. As per information available, India has nearly 1000 universities, 52000 colleges, 14 lakh schools including 325760 Private schools and 14.2 lakh teachers which have suffered enormously. Indeed, the private Schools and their support staff have taken the biggest hit. Indecisiveness of the government on issues like charging fee only added to their genuine woes, confusion and litigation.
Online distance education has been the best option in the given Covid19 environment. Innovations on teaching online have reached its limits. The much needed combination of parents, students and technology has touched a level never before. The public and private sectors have been proactive in building digital contents, platforms and practices to fill the vacuum created by absence of classrooms. Webinars, zoom and Google Meet have been the buzz word. Experience suggests that low-income groups miss out the most in online learning due to lack of technology and its enablers. This reflects the unavoidable need of school opening.
Understandably, schools cannot be closed indefinitely, but their reopening is a worrisome dilemma. Mention of this by the prime minister on last year Independence Day function was a poignant reminder of the state of school-going children amid the covid19 crisis. However, reopening of schools is a big question for the country at present and education can’t be neglected for long. Given the state of Covid19, disturbing mutation and reportedly new virus, the question is: should we open schools by putting the health of children at risk? In the theory of risk management, there is emphasis on Likelihood and Severity. Incidentally, both aspects are at extreme at present.
Schools in India are hubs where children learn, play, socialize, feel safe, improve health and sanitation, and grow socially and emotionally. The ‘Mid Day Meal’ scheme was centric to their physical presence in the schools. Children outside schools are more vulnerable to abuse, violence, trafficking, labour and child marriage. It is in this context, that one feels schools must prepare a protective, supportive, recovery and rehabilitation plans with optimal communication network and outreach to receive students, teachers, parents, administration and transport back.
The last Unlock offers an option to students of class X and XII to consult and connect with teachers with no leverage in strictly adhering to SOPs. The states are taking their own call. Several of them have decided to keep the schools tightly shut while few states are going ahead partially or full throttle in opening all classes. A recent survey in Bihar showed that about 85% of parents of students of classes X and XII want their children to return to school. An all out uniform response on reopening may elude for quite some time.
The digital divide between parents who can manage their children’s online education easily, and those who cannot, needs no emphasis. Online education demands family or self owned devices like laptop, computers, mobiles, reliable internet connections and an uninterrupted power source. However, a majority of households only have access to limited number of smart phones with other two essentials missing. The state in rural India is more discouraging for power and reliable connectivity with all stake holders and set timing in sync with each other go. The problem gets grimmer with lockdown, fear of infection, shrinking jobs and drying income.
Reopening of schools is a colossal challenge for the governments, not to mention the school authorities. Nevertheless it’s an attainable and necessary if mandated protocols are followed. Schools are not seen as Covid-19 hotspots internationally. The UK experience in opening schools has been encouraging; with PM Boris Johnson saying that schools can run. In the USA, however, reopening proved counterproductive, with several students falling sick. The loss to children is immense and irredeemable and remains a subject of an endless debate. We need a plethora of collaborative efforts combined with policy and financial support to be lined up. For the sake of India’s children, no preparation will be grudged as excess. Old adage goes; “Fighting forces say, a war is won in its preparation”.
Covid-19 prohibited students from using many resources that are available through schools. A recent UN report reveals that nearly 820 million children worldwide do not have basic hand washing facilities at school, putting them at increased risk of Covid19 and other transmittable diseases. Students can be at high-risk due to their different neighborhood, locations, mode of transport and corona impacted zones and often crammed into poorly ventilated class rooms. However, a survey by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control also found that the reopening of schools from mid-May 2020 onwards in several European countries has so far not been associated with a significant increase in community transmission except from pre-existing community spread zones.
During Aug 2020, out of 105 of a total of 134 countries that have closed schools. 59 of those 105 countries have already reopened schools or plan to open them soon. With schools being closed for nearly a year, the biggest question is if we are adequately equipped and safe to reassume class rooms. ‘To be or not to be’- these eternal words by Shakespeare, hold more importance today than ever before. Going back to school during the current state of covid19 has caught stake holders between need and feared risks.
The missing interaction between students and teachers can negatively impact the growth, friendship, and social behavior of students. For kinesthetic and visual learners’ styles, they can interact face to face with full efficiency in the class room setting with option of asking questions. Younger children need more mentoring, supervision and attention. Experts admit that online classes cannot replace classrooms. Kid’s mental well-being, dropout rate, health problem, social isolation, mood swings, anxiety and lifestyle are other related problems. Presence in class rooms improves adaptability, interaction, collaborative learning, and problem-solving skills.
Biggest vaccine drives though cautiously and slowly has commenced and India’s infection rate has also steadily dropped alongside encouraging recovery rate. For many, the life is returning to near normal or possibly as it could be, but parents are wary of sending the children back to schools. Some believe that they are in no haste as yet. The answer to when it would be fully safe remains a mystery. On the question if they would be willing to send their kids to school after vaccine roll out, the answer continued to be both yes and no. None can take the onus of responsibility for unfortunate infection cases which may occur.
The central government is rightly putting entire responsibility of protocols and school operations on school managements. It is recommended that all schools pay heed to using masks, rescheduling activities, restructuring class rooms, spreading out desks, installing separators, adopting temporary class space, phasing operations, odd/even attendance, eliminating group activities, assemblies and sports, preparation to shift entire classrooms, collaboration with health care systems, fumigation, enhanced environment sanitization, suitable transport, medicare facility, personal sanitization kit, and much needed communication to the stake holders when warranted.
There is also a need to look into operational and financial survival activities of private Schools in diverse Indian environment unlike the secured job and salary available to government aided schools. Their staff has undergone a worst phase of financial sufferings and uncertainties. 0.3 percent of primarily international schools provide insurance for their staff, including teachers. Typically schools don’t buy health insurance for anyone. This needs attention. Contribution of private schools surely merits a sympathetic look.
Schools are opening in countries as a part of a number of actions related to phased unlocking, not an isolated action. This includes reopening industries, public transport, commercial business, hospitality, social sectors and jobs for rightful financial comfort. Everyone is aware about the heavy cost of closure of the schools and desire to minimize the health risk. Having a badly disrupted year or skipping a year means that students will be at a disadvantage, will create chaos in colleges and professional schools years later due to structured compliances, age factors and missing opportunities. Neither this was the first virus nor will it be the last. This brings us to a more fundamental point to ponder over if education sector should be brought under Essential Activity? This is the prime question staring at us. Do we have answer?
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