Impact of COVID-19 on education and its challenges

Impact of COVID-19 on Education and its challenges

People all over the India have been encountered with naval pandemic named COVID-19, causing deaths of hundreds of people. Number of infected people and deaths are increasing every day. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a new virus. The disease causes respiratory illness (like the flue) with symptoms such as cough and fever and in more cases, difficulty breathing. you can protect yourself by washing your hands frequently, avoiding touching your face, avoiding close contact ( one meter or three feet) with who are unwell. Coronavirus disease spreads primarily through contact with infected person when they cough or sneeze. It also spreads when a person touches a surface or object that has the virus on it, then touches their eyes, nose or mouth.

If the covid-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities of India’s healthcare system , it has also exposed the inadequacy of India’s university system. At a time when the world’s universities have been at the forefront in the battle against the novel coronavirus, Indian universities are still not on the frontlines yet. Researchers at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London have built epidemiological models of the spread of the virus that have influenced public policies in the UK and elsewhere. 

Government of India is taking all necessary steps to ensure that we are prepared well to face the challenge and threat posed by the growing pandemic of COVID-19 the Corona Virus. With active support of the people of India, we have been able to contain the spread of the Virus in our country. The most important factor in preventing the spread of the Virus locally is to empower the citizens with the right information and taking precautions as per the advisories being issued by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.People of all ages CAN be infected by the coronavirus. Older people, and people with pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease) appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with the virus.

Bringing together scientists, public health decision-makers, medical journalists, technology and social media platforms and civil society, this consultation aimed to develop a framework for interventions to help share reliable information, while reducing misinformation, rumours and myths about COVID-19.

In this International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, World Health Day highlights the critical role played by nurses and midwives, who are at the forefront of the COVID-19 response globally."There is no black or white answer, and no silver bullet. Masks alone cannot stop the COVID19 pandemic. Countries must continue to find, test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact”.

Just as health workers are putting themselves in danger to save lives from COVID-19. There is no black or white answer, and no silver bullet. Masks alone cannot stop the pandemic. Countries must continue to find, test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact.

You can protect yourself and help prevent spreading the virus to others if you:

Do

*Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub.

*Cover your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when you cough or sneeze.

*Avoid close contact (1 meter or 3 feet) with people who are unwell.

*Stay home and self-isolate from others in the household if you feel unwell.

Don't

*Touch your eyes, nose, or mouth if your hands are not clean.

As the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) spread across the globe and in India, alarm bells are sounding in the education sector. Number of students have plans to pursue their higher education in universities abroad. What are these students supposed to do? How are universities and schools across the globe impacted by the novel Coronavirus?

Institutes across the globe are simply instructed to limit the exposure of susceptible student population. This includes measure such as-

• School closures
• Postponing/rescheduling examinations
• Cleaning and sanitization of premises
• Consideration of long-term contingency 
• Exam Results has published a list of rescheduled or postponed board exams across India. This can help you remain updated on the latest announcements or changes related to board exam schedules across the country.

The impact on education is likely to cause losses in terms of dropout rates and learning outcomes, especially in regions with low shock-resilience. Children have fewer opportunities of learning from home. Further, closure of schools is likely to lead to parents missing work, in order to stay at home and take care of the children. This also affects productivity, incurs loss in wages, consequently affecting the community and the economy as a whole.

A large number of health-care professionals are women. Their work may be disrupted by the presence of their children at home due to school closures, causing unintended strain on health-care related systems 

What are the possible alternatives for interrupted education during COVID-19?

- Exploring the possibility of digital learning, high and low technology solutions etc on the basis of power supply, digital skills of teachers and students, and internet connectivity

- Inclusion in distance learning programs, especially for students coming from low-income groups or presence of disability, etc.

- Providing support for digitalization to teachers as well as studentsDigital learning platforms

Several online learning platforms are offering their services to a wider audience. Toppr made its services free for use for some time, especially for class 10^th and class 12^th students in India. Learning, teaching and training are profoundly affected by the challenges of the digital age. Whether you are a teacher, lecturer, trainer, librarian, researcher, manager or learning technologist, the Digital Education programme (formerly known as E-learning) will give you the practical teaching skills and critical insight you need in this fast-moving and richly diverse field.

Digital technology in India has been evolving over the last few years, changing the way students learn concepts in school. The traditional chalk and talk method has paved the way for more interactive teaching methods as schools are increasingly adopting digital solutions to keep themselves abreast with the technological changes. As the current generation of students is well-versed with laptops, i-pads, and smartphones, these innovative methods of teaching guarantee more participation from students. To cater to the school students’ needs, education providers such as Educomp, Tata Class Edge, Pearson, and TeachNext have been coming up with interactive software to aid teachers in classroom teaching. However, usage of digital technologies in institutes of higher education is still in its nascent stages and efforts are being made to fine-tune these technologies to adapt to the needs of University students. In short, content development is yet to mature in colleges and universities across India.