TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2024
Eusebio Gomes
All the schools in India have remained closed since March 2020. Although they have been opened sporadically in February-March 2021 for the older students, there is a great loss of learning for the students at all levels of their learning. Prolonged closures of schools have jeopardised their future and made them lethargic. They have become passive and are displaying a pensive mood worrying about their future. By remaining within the four walls of their homes they have lost touch with the realities and intricacies of life. In fact the school provides them all round formation – intellectual, physical, ethical and spiritual. The Guru-Shishya relationship is essential for the child in his/her formative years.
Teachers are the second parents of the children. A teacher is a friend, a guide and a philosopher for every student. He/she is needed to guide, counsel and support the child at every step of his/her schooling. Closure of schools and shifting to virtual learning had an egregious effect on the children. Many of the students are not attuned to online learning although they have the facility of best touch screen cell phones. In the rural set-up there is a problem of Internet connectivity. So, some of the students do not have access to virtual learning. No matter what app a teacher uses or how interesting he/she makes the online lessons, these virtual classes cannot be compared to the classroom learning. For the younger children especially from Kindergarten and primary level, the physical presence of the teacher is a must for their effective learning. Online teaching is alright in a transitional period in the wake of a pandemic but in the long run the closure of schools for a longer period will have adverse effect on the discipline, collaborative spirit, sportive skills and all round formation of the students.
The children have in-born systems in their body to fight any virus. As per the paediatricians in the West the immunity system in the children is very good and this system may resist even the mighty Corona virus. Keeping the fear of Corona virus aside the schools in the west have been opened last year itself. Based on inputs from leading paediatrics in the UK, US and India, the Lancet Covid-19 Commission India Task Force recently recommended re-opening of schools, in a phased manner with adequate safeguards, as Covid-19 cases decrease. A roadmap for safe re-opening of schools is to be formulated. Schools need to implement the measures such as sanitisation, use of masks, ventilation, maintaining social distance in the classrooms etc. The education sector in India has suffered badly due to school closures. South African Nelson Mandela said: “Education is the powerful weapon we can use to change the world.”
Let us save our children from isolation.
