COVID19. Hard Hit to Nation
The number of children, youth and adults not attending schools or universities because of COVID-19 is soaring. Governments all around the world have closed educational institutions in an attempt to restrain the global pandemic.
According to UNESCO monitoring, over 130 countries have implemented nationwide closures, impacting over 80% of world’s student population. Several other countries have implemented localized school closures and, should these closures have become nationwide, millions of additional learners will experience education disruption.
UNESCO is providing immediate support to countries as they work to minimize the educational disruption and facilitate the continuity of learning, especially for the most vulnerable.
School closures – even when temporary – carry high social and economic costs. The disruptions they cause touch people across communities, but their impact is particularly severe for disadvantaged boys and girls and their families.
Some of the reasons why school closures are so harmful are listed below. While the list is far from comprehensive, it helps to clarify why school closures should matter to all of us.
Interrupted learning: Schooling provides essential learning and when schools closed,children and youth are deprived opportunities for growth and development. The disadvantages are disproportionate for under-privileged learners who tend to have fewer educational opportunities beyond school.
Nutrition: Many children and youth rely on free or discounted meals provided at schools for food and healthy nutrition. When schools close nutrition is comprised.
Parents unprepared for distance and home schooling: When schools close parents are often asked to facilitate the learning of children at home and can struggle to perform this task. This is especially true for parents with limited education and resources.
Unequal access to digital learning portals: Lack of access to technology or good internet connectivity is an obstacle to continued learning, especially for students from disadvantaged families.
High economic costs: Working parents are more likely to miss work when schools close in order to take care of their children, incurring wage loss in many instances and negatively impacting productivity.
Unintended strain on health-care system: Women often represent a large share of health-care workers and often cannot attend work because of childcare obligations that result from school closures. This means that many medical professionals are not at the facilities where they are most needed during a health crisis.
Increased pressure on schools and school systems that remain open: Localized school closures place burdens on schools as parents and officials redirect children to schools that are open.
Dropout rates tend to rise: It is a challenge to ensure children and youth return and stay in school when schools reopen after closures. This is especially true of protracted closures.
Social isolation: Schools are hubs of social activity and human interaction. When schools are closed, many children and youth miss out of on social contact that is essential to keep society safe.
However the faculty members are regularly conducting online classes for students and which are interactive and interesting too,wherein kudos to those teachers who have converted their room into classroom.
The virus has really hit hard to the country yet hoping that social distancing,frequent hand wash ,staying in house would be best way to stay safe.
This is every individual’s responsibility towards nation to keep everyone safe.
(Ms Heema Sharma, Principal, KR MANGALAM WORLD SCHOOL, Greater Noida)
