Children and the Pandemic - Episode 1(Digital Learning)

This pandemic has already blown away so much of the things we love. But what does it mean for children in India? Find out.

In this series of articles, we also address the major question looming in front of some governments at the present. Should schools be reopened?

When the pandemic came calling in early January, most governments began closing schools, colleges and other institutions. Talking of India, the GOI issued a nationwide lockdown from 26th March and though the Unlock 5 has allowed many services to open, schools remain closed in almost all the parts of India. Here we discuss what this means from a students point of view:

Online Learning:

To make sure that students did not completely fall back on their studies many schools decided to bring education to the internet. While a welcome move from the schools, the classes, unfortunately, have gone downhill from the beginning.

Most teachers today have access to smartphones and laptops, but to expect them to excel at remote learning is farfetched. The internet has loads to offer but the people must know what to do when and the know-how of the technology to be able to impart knowledge easily.

While bringing the education online, some schools began depending heavily on assignments to be able to make children busy. However, too many such projects have, according to some, taken away the fun from learning.

This, too, applies to the minor portion of urban students who have access to uninterrupted internet services. In a country like India, where many villages don't have access to electricity, the internet is like a daydream. This is not to say that the online mode of education should be discouraged, just that it should have been the task of the Government(Both the Union and the States) to respond quickly and train teachers in remote learning techniques. One state, which in our opinion fared better than others, is Kerala.

In Kerala, the Government, partnering with some donors made sure that every student had access to a smartphone and internet connection.

Part 2 coming soon.....