The COVID-19 pandemic has left no stone unturned in wreaking havoc for people across all walks of life. The disruption of daily life has been drastic and sudden—and perhaps one of the most dramatic shifts was education’s move to a virtual setting.
According to UNESCO, almost 1.3 billion students have been affected by the novel coronavirus around the world. The sudden and unprecedented shift from traditional in-school to a digital platform has shaken the roots of our education system. UNESCO estimates that about 32 crores students are affected in India, including those in schools and colleges.
In such challenging times, the digital platforms have proved to be a blessing for the world of education, however, online learning comes with its own set of challenges and this sudden transformation is proving to be difficult for the students as well as the teachers.
Let’s take a look at the new mountains of problems that have been created due to the pandemic.
Dropout rates have increased
UNESCO released a report estimating 24 million children may not return to education in 2020 owing to the economic crisis which is taking over the country which will further result in lower-income families making their kids drop out of the school and further pushing them towards child labor.
According to an Organisation ECW, young girls are twice as likely to drop out and face other problems like child marriage, domestic abuse, and other such gender-based violence.
People’s livelihood and source of income have been severely affected as a result many parents are not able to pay the tuition fee for their children which has served as another trigger for the increased dropout rates.
Learning difficulties
Online learning has been especially challenging for younger children, students with learning disabilities, and special needs who need constant assistance from their teachers and find it difficult to concentrate.
In general, the social distance and absence of an authority figure to monitor students are creating a set of passive learners as students can easily slack off and not pay attention to the class.
Challenges faced by teachers
Teachers now have to have to unlearn the old style of education which they have been practicing for decades and adapt to new ways of online teaching. Many teachers are not accustomed to technology, furthermore, the absence of face-to-face communication brings in a sense of disconnection between students and teachers.
Classroom management has always been a challenge for teachers and remote classrooms have made it even tougher for the teachers to maintain discipline in their classes and actively engage students in what is being taught.
Inequality and disparity
Digital illiteracy, data cost, lack of access to technology, and proper internet connection have become a huge learning barrier for students from rural areas and puts them at an unfair disadvantage creating a big digital divide.
Moreover, online learning mostly only caters to private schools and eludes government institutes widening the gap between rural and urban sectors of society.
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