Education is one sector which has been greatly impacted as the highly infectious coronavirus prompted shutdown of schools and educational institutions. After almost 17-months of on&off covid lockdowns and measures, there is a mixed bag of opinions about opening of schools. While a section is advocating  for resumption of normal classes the other is not too keen due to obvious reasons.
Students are among the worst sufferers-- with quality of education and learning process in tatters due to covid driven measures and a skewed access to internet connectivity and learning devices. This “learning loss” will ultimately impact quality of human resource. 
Online education has also opened up the digital divide between rural and urban populace. A student in a remote Arunachal town with poor internet connectivity can hardly sit through an online class as his counterpart in say urban Itanagar. Then there are parents who cannot afford smartphones to facilitate their children’s learning. The financial burden increases for parents already struggling to pay for quality education which doesn’t come cheap. A recent UNICEF report estimates that only one in four children has access to digital devices and internet connectivity in India. In another interesting survey, almost 80% of parents said they are unhappy with online education.
However, opening of schools might not be a wise decision just yet. We are not sure how the virus might affect children especially with the new variants. As such experts are already warning of an imminent third wave which might largely affect children.
 While we want physical classes to start, health and safety concerns of children must take precedence. We have patiently endured close to two years now, a little longer surely is worth the sacrifice.

---

Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List