by Mr. P Arumuganainar, Scientist and Director, NIC, Government of India
Though COVID-19 troubled everybody’s life, it has resulted in at least one positive thing: a much greater appreciation for the importance of learning in classrooms. Many young parents have struggled to manage their children at home due to the closure of schools. Now they recognise the importance of not only the class room learning but also a teachers’ role and their dedicated service. The young children struggle to learn from home by the supervision of tiring parents and now, they definitely show their gratitude to these teachers for their subjective, personal skills, and their invaluable role in student well-being.
the teacher can start their teaching services immediately.
On the other hand, the pandemic situation has pushed an already neglected section of the rural students in deeper marginalisation especially those in rural government schools. Though many EdTech companies boom their Digital learning business in all means, they have hardly touched these rural students so far. The rural students struggle ever with this digital division especially with very poor internet connectivity in their locality. Virtual classes are only a temporary solution to refresh the learning subjects but they never, ever build the teacher-student bondage. A virtual teacher can never replace a real time dedicated teacher. For the past one year, our students missed an attractive environment such as their lovely schools, class-rooms, teachers, peers, playground and of course the learning subject. School not only simply provides a learning environment, but it also gives a parental care and safety net to the students. To make the educational space more appealing, including the playground, consider nursery playground painting.
Virtual classes cannot provide an alternate way of education for all time; it is just a supplementary and transitional groundwork to succeed the nastiest present pandemic situation. Now it is the time to chart a vision for how education can emerge stronger from this global crisis.
To begin with, all School Teachers have to be vaccinated compulsorily to ensure their own safety, because the children may be silent carriers of COVID-19 third version!! Who knows? Where ever possible, schools have to be re-opened at various stages in a fully protected mode of environment. Teachers may handle the class rooms or even an open environment safely either within the campus or any other suitable location of the village. Also, the corporates using their CSR fund may recruit and train young people from each village to work as field-teachers. All educated youths may act a proxy for teachers to handle the classes under the virtual supervision of respective teachers.
Now it is the time to usher in much-needed school educations from simulated and virtual mode to physical mode.
