BE A WARRIOR, NOT A WORRIER!!

Witnessing the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has made us come across a very unexpected and excruciating part of our lives. This invasion of the virus didn’t set any age-bar, rather affected everyone equally, starting from the innocent infants to enthusiastic teens and even to the old monks. The deadly virus has changed our lifestyle in a very dramatical way.

The early stages of the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns were hard for all of us, in different ways. And, the versatility of its impacts has led to unacceptable consequences, majorly in the areas of mental health, education system, economy and unemployment.

Mental health is a major component for our wellbeing and distress in it is quite fatal in a long run. Isolation, joblessness, childcare, and various other challenges have severely affected the mental well-being of many people around the world, thus, horribilizing the day-to-day lives. Moreover, the physical health effects of COVID-19 and the countless deaths during the pandemic has continuously claimed to be devastating on a global scale.

Education has the responsibility to nurture youth, the future of nation. Unfortunately, breach in the education system came into role, thereby creating a redzone for their career. Though education hubs are closed, students are attending their classes through various initiatives like online classrooms, radio programs etc. Despite being the best option possible during this pandemic, it’s true that the online classes are not that efficient. Moreover, there are a lot of students who didn’t own the required resources for attending the online classes and thereby, suffering a lot. Many students are struggling to obtain the gadgets required for online classes. One of the major stumbling blocks with regard to online learning is the lack of strong and stable internet connection, as the ones conventionally used at homes have either low bandwidth or have daily usage limits. Due to online learning, students with the need of physical labs are struggling a lot. Further, sudden increase in screen time has also impacted the health of the students and the faculties. In addition to this, weak eyesight, body ache and bad postures have become a common issue. Moreover, the delay and cancellation of exams altered the academic calendar vigorously.

Talking about some figures and facts, over 1.5 million schools across India were closed-down due to the pandemic. According to a 2019 government survey, only 24 % households have access to the internet. And talking particularly about rural India, only 4 % households having access to the education ministry’s budget for digital e-learning.

Though there are many negative impacts from the COVID-19 outbreak in the field of education, there are also some positive highlights that have taken the education system and its methods a step higher. The pandemic has opened gates to innovative methods of transmission of knowledge across the globe. Many efforts came into role for continuing education at different levels. "You don't understand anything until you learn it more than one way." This quote was certainly illustrated during the pandemic, as teachers used diverse methods for teaching and learning. Teachers who are all experts in blackboard, chalk, books, and classroom teaching are really new to this digital era of education, but they are adopting the new methods and are handling it in a very efficacious manner to aid the students in the current scenario.

Everyone has doubts and questions: When will life be normal again? But life continues to go on and so does education. We can sense the great damage in the field of education in this era of coronavirus. We also count COVID-19 as a blessing in disguise as the pandemic has opened doors to the new opportunities like higher level digitalization, increasing concerned regarding sanitization and consciousness. The situation demands the updation of infrastructure and knowledge to face conditions or events like these in future.

Please wear a mask, maintain social distance, and stay safe. 

“BE A WARRIOR, NOT A WORRIER!!”