Coronavirus Infectious diseases 2019 (COVID-19) is a severe acute respiratory syndrome first identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and since then has spread globally, resulting in an ongoing pandemic all across the globe. the common symptoms include fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, and loss of smell and taste; The virus is primarily spread between the people during close contacts. As of May 16, 2020, more than 4.56 million cases have been reported across 188 countries and territories&more than 3,08,000 deaths; Although the Recovery rate is more than 1.64 million people.
With the huge spread of disease, in the second week of March, state governments across the country began shutting down all the public places where there are chances of gathering and possibility of spread of the virus. These places include schools, colleges, offices, spiritual places, restaurants, cafes, gyms, and many other social gatherings places. Only the places that provide necessary services are allowed to stay open such as grocery stores, hospitals, medical stores, etc. The imposed shutdown is temporarily measured to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus& now it is close to a few months now and there is no certainty when the lockdown will be lifted. It is quite a crucial time for all the sectors as it is not only affecting the health of the people but also triggers the nervous system in the human body and adversely affects the economy of the country.
Read Also: Future of Education System Amidst Covid 19
One of the great impacts of Covid-19 is on the education sector of the country. Board examinations, nursery school admissions, entrance tests of various universities and competitive examinations, others, are being held during this period. As the days are passing by with no immediate solution to stop this outbreak, the closure of school and university is hugely affecting the learning across the country. The structure of the education system i.e. learning methodology, teaching techniques &assessment methodologies, are quite affected and result in a shift to online education with most focus on virtual education to accomplish the set aims and objectives. But only a handful of schools and universities could adopt such methods and the low-income private and government school are quite inefficient to adopt the same, thus resulting in a shutdown. Not only the school, but the pandemic has also significantly disrupted the higher education sector as well, which is a critical determinant of a country’s economic future.
Also, the employment rate had a huge fall due to the spreading disease. Recent graduates in India are fearing the withdrawal of job offers for cooperates because of the current ongoing economic crises. The centre for Monitoring Indian Economy’s estimates on unemployment shot up from 8.4% in mid-March to 23% in April and the urban unemployment rate to 30.9%. The pandemic has transformed the centuries of old teaching methods, chalk-talk teaching model to one driven by technology. To overcome the increasing interruption in the education system during Covid-19, some possible alternatives or solutions can be used which includes the help of power supply, digital skills of teachers and students, internet connectivity, it is necessary to explore digital learning, distance learning program can be included, provide support for digitalization to teachers and students. This disruption in the delivery of education is pushing policymakers to figure out how to drive engagement at the teaching level while ensuring inclusive e-learning solutions and tackling the digital divide. Therefore, it is impossible to ignore that technology plays a crucial role in the educational system and the demand for the current situation. In this time of crisis, a well-rounded and effective educational practice is what is needed for the capacity-building of young minds. It will develop skills, which will lead to their employability, productivity, health, and well-being in the decades to come, and ensure the overall progress of the student as well as of India.
Ms. Ruby Yadav
Asst. Professor
Faculty of Education
