With the onset of the worldwide pandemic, educational institutions around the world have shut down, forcing scores of students out of their campuses into their homes until the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.
The world of students has come to a screeching halt and has thrown into question the future of many, as well as education. Is this what it will look like now? What has the pandemic exposed about education? How has the role of teachers been impacted? What needs to be changed, and what will be changed? These are all questions to ponder, and perhaps can only be attempted to answer for now.
As of 7th April 2020, there have been country-wide school closures in 188 countries, with 1,576021818 learners impacted and over 63,000,00 educators impacted. 91% of the world population is facing uncertainty, particularly in terms of their future.
Different countries, similar responses
As per the guidelines by world governance institutions such as WHO, countries all over the world have shut down their schools and shifted to distanced learning. In Pakistan, the closure took place around 13th March, leading to two weeks of uncertainty before a concrete plan for distanced learning was set in motion for university and school students alike.
In the US, the announcement to close campuses and scale back operations came around 17th March, as universities scrambled to send their students home and close down campuses. Students at Harvard were asked to empty out the campus by 5 pm on 15th March. Amongst these were also MIT, Princeton, and Stanford.
Amongst these, international students were dealt the harshest blow, because there wasn’t enough time to plan and organize their move, as well as set-up procedure for shipping. According to Eugene Donati, an international student at Harvard, “It was very unexpected, but I knew I wasn’t going to be affected by it, just because I wasn’t planning on going back to Italy anyway. But now even if I wanted to fly there are just no flights anymore. So if I go, it wouldn’t be possible to come back.”
Shifting educational processes
All around the world, educational processes have been delegated to online platforms. IT, internet accessibility, and a fundamental understanding of applications on computers have become essential for operations. Many schools and universities have turned to Zoom for online classes, and online systems such as the platform CITREX to upload lessons.
While these processes have been handled adequately, there has been a delay in assessments all across the world. Internal assessments have been cancelled, while eliminates the possibility of gauging a student’s academic progress as they go along. Apart from these, external assessments all around the world have been either postponed or cancelled.
One of the most notable are the GCSEs and A-levels by the University of London, which are not only limited to the UK but are undertaken by many ex-colonies of the country such as in Pakistan. Scores of students appear for these exams in May/June or October/November, but the pandemic has delayed these exams until further notice, which means that the qualifications of many are on hold.
In addition, delays in postgraduate education, such as exams for specialization in particular fields like surgery have been cancelled for the year in places such as South Africa, which has an overarching impact on the job market, as it is likely that no new jobs will be created for the incoming pool of doctors. Also, graduates are likely to enter into a market that is in recession. Poor market conditions will lead to candidates accepting low paying jobs, which will impact the career trajectories of many.
Exposing differences amongst students
Another significant impact of COVID-19 is that it has exposed the inequalities and disparities in the lives of students. On-campus, many students stand on equal footing in terms of access to university resources such as the library, the internet, and the classroom.
The shift from the classroom to distanced learning has exposed the stark differences that students in a university may have – some may have come from lower-income backgrounds on a scholarship, some from rural areas or neighbourhoods with poor internet connectivity and some may hail from affluent places that are devoid of these problems.
Students from poor and marginalised household will bear the brunt of the dislocation, mainly because it is likely that they do not have access to internet with adequate bandwidth for online video classes. People that hail from areas and countries that are rampant with the virus might be at risk.
In addition, these are times of extreme stress and anxiety, which has a direct impact on the mental health of these students. It is likely that at-home environments may not be conducive to productive learning. Moreover, students from abusive households are increasingly at risk, juggling a different set of problems altogether.
A test for educators, and a shift for education
The pandemic has also become a test for teachers as well. It has demanded of them extreme adaptability to a crisis, and in some cases, expanded the roles of teachers into mentors and counsellors for many. The crisis demands empathy, understanding, resilience, emotional intelligence, creativity, and critical thinking from the pool of educators.
Educators have been pushed to rethink how education takes place. Educational institutions have been forced to turn to technology and learn how to impart knowledge best using digital tools. Since technology has stepped in to bridge the gap between students and teachers, it will play a pivotal role in the future, perhaps enabling flexibility in some domains. Nevertheless, the question of dealing with inequality of access remains unanswered.
Moreover, the role of the educator, as has been mentioned above, will expand. The idea of the educator as the sole knowledge holder has been challenged as students turn to digital resources more and more – from gaining information to learning a skill. Therefore, teachers must instead move towards the role of facilitators, enabling the development of youth as functioning members of society.
