According to UNESCO, learning process of around 32 crore students in India has been affected. How essential is reopening of educational institutes for restoring academic engagement of students? SUPRIYA RAMESH brings you a report
It’s been one year and nine months since India observed its index case of COVID-19 in Thrissur, Kerala taking the overall tally to 3,44,26,036. Thousands of patients are being reported even today. With the advent of this pandemic, countries have been affected in many ways worldwide. While countries are at different points in their COVID-19 infection rates, in India there are currently more than 298,145, 295 learners affected by school closures due to the pandemic as per statistics provided by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). According to its report, the learning process of around 32 crores students including 3.5 crore university students in India has been badly affected.
Now that the schools are partially open for offline classes, it is quite a task to analyse whether students and teachers have set their minds for a ‘back to school days’ routine. Many Government schools in Delhi resumed offline classes from November 01, 2021, whereas several private schools reopened from November 08, 2021.
Schools have adopted the hybrid-learning paradigm and it seems to be the safest option at present. “There has been a paradigm shift in the current educational system and the hybrid learning mode has the potential to be a huge game-changer. We have adopted the hybrid learning paradigm for grade 11 and 12 students after conducting sessions virtually for more than 18 months,” says Radhika Sinha, Principal, Aditya Birla World Academy.
She tells us that with the objective of ensuring the utmost safety of the children as well as staff, they request formal permission from parents before sending their children to physical classrooms. A student is not allowed to attend offline classes if the consent form from the parents is not signed. Furthermore, for students who do not wish to attend or are not in a position to attend offline lectures, online sessions are being concurrently conducted.
Adhering to the Government laid COVID protocols, schools are making sure that students, teachers and other staff members are all screened at the entrance point for temperature checks everyday. “Even though more than 90% of our teaching and non-teaching staff are completely vaccinated, we have made it essential for pupils and teachers to show a negative RT PCR report each week at our school,” Sinha says.
“Through their time spent at school, children are required to wear masks. Students/Teachers who exhibit any COVID like symptoms will be sent home after undergoing a medical examination by our in-house medical professionals,” she adds.
While the number of cases have gone down, there is still some fear lingering around. Shikha Banerjee, Principal, Seth Anandram Jaipuria School, Kanpur, says “Apparently, going by the current scenario, the worst has passed but still I have a very strong inkling that now is the time when we need to be all the more cautious because people in general have become pretty much negligent and carefree.”
She adds that in their school, they have not left any stone unturned to ensure that all safety precautions are taken and protocols followed so that the children get a safe and healthy environment to be in. Whether it be physical distancing, practising health and hand hygiene or use of disinfectants, they have been practising it all in their strictest terms.
Students might not follow safety measures sometimes so constant reminders should be given to them. “We all need to understand that each one of us needs to act and behave responsibly to ensure a healthy work environment,” Banerjee says.
“Out of the long list of do’s and don’ts which the Health organisations have laid down for the schools, some of them pose challenges. For example, physical distancing. Ideally, students should remain at least three feet apart within classrooms or on campus, but it’s hard to implement it practically. Oftentimes, students tend to forget to maintain social distance when the teacher is away. However, other measures such as face masks, thermal screening, wellness exercises and emotional support are working well,” says Divya Roy, PGT-English, Seth Anandram Jaipuria School, Kanpur.
To ensure added safety, Sinha says that they have designated isolation zones at school, usage of elevators has been limited, and the cafeteria is kept closed. Most importantly, safety being the top priority, they ensure sanitizing and disinfecting the school premises every day before and after school hours. The school has been following all processes and safeguards to ensure a smooth transition back to school for both educators and students.
To keep the numbers small and meet the necessary regulations of maintaining the required distance in seating arrangements and other safeguards, schools have put out a routine for one grade per day to attend off-line sessions and grades have been allotted different time slots.
“The school has set the timetable so as to have only one grade attend classes on a day, which assists us in adhering to the needed protocol of maintaining the required seating spacing,” Sinha tells you.
“The timings are as usual but split into slots, so that 10th And 12th would have classes from 9am to 12:30pm, 9th and 11th would have classes from 1:30 to 4:30pm,” says Challa Haneesha, a grade 12 student from St. Brittos Academy, Velachery, Chennai.
As hybrid learning has become the new normal, will it continue to exist in the future?
“Applying technology in the classroom has grown as a fundamental part of our lives as educators. In the era of personalised learning, where learning is not confined to classrooms or textbooks, and instructors' expertise is not limited to the gathering of data or documented material essential for learning, the phrase 'New School' connotes forward-thinking,” says Sinha.
Moreover, to suit the need of the hour, syllabus had to be restructured whether it be at the council level or school. “All aspects related to the present work scenario have been taken into account and the syllabus has been tailor-made to suit the respective levels and requirements of the students,” Banerjee tells you.
Haneesha tells us that the online education was not quite helpful as they had several distractions, so going back to school and catching up with the syllabus felt difficult since the basics weren't strong enough.
Coming to the syllabus, there have been modifications and alterations for both board classes and in-house curriculum. “The Council For The Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) has brought in necessary bifurcations in the syllabus to cater to two semester exams instead of one board exam. Likewise, the internal curriculum of the school has also been moderated in tangent with the hybrid pattern of teaching,” Roy explains.
She adds that the Council has not only slashed down the syllabus for the board classes but has also changed the pattern of their testing of the students. The candidates are now supposed to attempt MCQs for the semester one exam. Similarly, the internal exam system of the school has been based on hybrid testing, MCQs and subjective.
With cons come pros. Switching from offline teaching to online has been a rough ride but it has also given space to educators and learners to explore various methods of e-learning and make use of different technologies in the comfort of their own homes. “During online classes the students were very comfortable since they could learn at their own pace. Now that we are almost back to in-person teaching, we can’t deny the pleasure of real time lively discussions and interactions. Offline classes are easy from a teacher’s perspective but as an educator I feel now is the time for hybrid learning,” says Roy.
According to Banerjee, online teaching was something which was forced down everyone’s throat. She felt that the very essence or soul of my institution had gone missing and teaching without physical and emotional connection was without any substance.
“All the students according to me prefer offline schooling as we get to meet our friends, even though wearing masks for long hours can get tiring, it's better than sitting at home and staring into the laptop screens,” Haneesha shares.
Sitting still and not moving for hours, zero face-to-face interactions and no extracurricular activities have all taken a toll on students’ and educators’ mental health. Coming back to school seems like a relief for most of them even if a lot of things are not the same.
“Teachers, too, require the tactile closeness and energy to teach students that a physical classroom delivers. Although teachers have been able to maintain virtual connections with their students, the value of face-to-face classroom interaction can never be matched. Students and staff alike were filled with anxious anticipation and joy at the idea of returning to what they consider to be their second home," Franak Bandekar, Secondary School and A Level Head, Aditya Birla World Academy shares.
She tells us that learning has had an impact on some children's emotional, social, behavioural, and intellectual development.