Delhi govt study to assess impact of closures on city school students

The study it will cover students from across the spectrum to provide an insight into how students from different backgrounds responded, adapted and handled the Covid-19 pandemic

The Delhi government will conduct a study to assess the impact of prolonged closure of schools and the shift to online education on the mental health and emotional well-being of students across the city.

The study will be conducted for students of Class 1 to 7, as well as parents and teachers through personal interviews from all 28 education zones in Delhi. (Sanchit Khanna/HT)

Senior officials of Delhi’s planning department that has commissioned the study, said it will cover students from across the spectrum --- boys and girls; different classes/age groups; and from different social and economic backgrounds --- to provide an insight into how students from different backgrounds responded, adapted and handled the Covid-19 pandemic. The study will be conducted for students of Class 1 to 7, as well as parents and teachers through personal interviews from all 28 education zones in Delhi.

”Schools have been shut for more than a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Stay at home measures and prolonged lockdowns have brought about major changes in the lives of parents, teachers, and students. The pandemic has exacerbated learning loss and adversely impacted the health and well being of students. Teachers were compelled to adapt to the digital mode of teaching and devise new methods of assessments,” said the bid document floated by the department on Friday.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) allowed schools to resume in-person classes from February 7, for students of grades 9 to 12. Offline classes for junior classes were reopened on February 14, according to the DDMA order. School administrators said they are now focusing on bridging learning gaps and easing students into the offline stream. For the first time since the pandemic began in 2020, schools have been allowed to function without a 50% cap on classroom capacity.

The Delhi government provided training to teachers to conduct online classes and used social media platforms to conduct happiness classes. Parents and students were also sent daily happiness activities through text messages and voice response (IVR) calls.

“Against the backdrop of these challenges and government initiatives, it is essential to generate evidence on the impact of the pandemic on students and teachers to recognise their needs and meet their expectations when schools reopen. Therefore, the government has decided to assess the impact on mental health and emotional well-being of students across schools in Delhi due to closure of schools on account of Covid-19 and shift to online education system, and also to understand the impact on students, teachers and parents from the sudden shift in teaching methods due to the pandemic,” the document said.

According to the government data, there were 4.48 million students enrolled in Delhi during 2020-21. For the study, a total of 8,400 students, 1,680 parents and 1,680 teachers would be surveyed for schools across 28 zones in Delhi. The report will have to be submitted to the planning department by May 27. School(s) will also be selected from areas like JJ clusters, resettlement colonies, unauthorized colonies, government colonies, rural and urban, and girls and boys schools, so that selected students for survey represent all social and economical backgrounds.