Transition to online education – An overview

Looking at the scenario in Maharashtra in particular, the outbreak of Covid-19 from March 22 till November 22 has put the brakes on the education system in Maharashtra for almost eight months during the year 2020. In order to ensure that at least 60 per cent of the students continue their education from June 15 to November 22, the government has put all its strength into the online mode of teaching. When will the schools start physically? This crucial question was answered by opening the schools in 22 districts of the state, with 33 per cent to 35 per cent student attendance from November 23; except Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgaon, and Nagpur, which have a student population over lakhs. The fate of students in the remaining thirteen districts was to rely on smartphones and laptops for online education till December 31.

A survey was conducted by UNICEF, ASAR, Azim Premji University, Local Circles, Brainly, along with teacher counsellors like me, to perform an observational study to find out the facts about what the students, teachers and parents, from both the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ groups trapped in the gap between the digital inequality are experiencing through online mode of learning. The Department of Education chose the online teaching method as a temporary solution, without adequate preparation and review. Major decisions were taken such as syllabus reduction, commencement of schools, partial implementation of Eleventh Online Admission Process, Fifty Percent Staff Attendance, Holidays, Supplementary Examinations, etc., without taking into account the views of students, teachers and parents repeatedly and hence proved wrong or had to be altered immediately after they were announced.

The Covid situation on one hand and the chaos of government decisions on the other resulted in having an adverse impact on the students’ minds. The survey also looked at some stressful issues among students, such as how much learning is actually taking place through online mode, how and when the class 10 and 12 exams should be conducted. In particular, the Department of Education itself revealed late information that 1,61,99,490 students in classes 1 to 12 in the state did not have smartphones, while 28,26,442 students did not have TVs, mobiles, radios or similar electronic devices. 18,03,626 students of class 10 and 12 in the state are worried whether the board exam will be conducted online or offline.

According to my personal survey data, about 72 per cent of students think that teachers should re-teach when schools and colleges start. It was mentioned that about 59 per cent of students spend Rs 500 and 30 per cent of children spend from Rs 700 to Rs 1000 on online education. About 50 per cent of parents have lost their jobs during the Corona period. About 67 per cent of students are facing a combination of problems such as irritability, depression, back pain, eye problems, severe headaches, anxiety about the future, and fear of exams, whereas 55 per cent of students have expressed the need for counselling.

According to a survey conducted by Azim Premji University, UNICEF and ASAR in various states, about 90 per cent of teachers, students and parents suggest that online teaching methods cannot replace school teaching. The most serious aspects of online education are the financial strain, unavailability of smartphones or other necessary devices, lack of adequate internet facilities, leading to unfortunate incidences of child labour, child marriages, student dropouts and heart-breaking steps taken by ninth-tenth grade students to commit suicide.

Sakshi Pol, class 10 (Aud, Karad, Dist. Satara), Adarsh ​​Harale (Jat, Dist. Sangli), Abhishek Sant (son of a sugarcane worker from Bhoj in Beed district) and Divya Pandit (Beed, at Dharur fort) hanged themselves to death for not having smartphones for online education, underlining the gravity of the tragic situation in Maharashtra. There is no denying the harsh reality that many states in the country have not been able to escape this serious problem. Online education will somehow fill the gap for the time being, but these lost innocent lives will never be regained.

About the author

Jaywant Kulkarni is a Teacher and an Educational Counselor at Gandhi Bal Mandir High School, Kurla.

 

 

 

 

 

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha