How a virus turned the classroom upside down
Ram Singh is staring at an uncertain future. The 25-year-old visually impaired postgraduate student at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) moved to his home in Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar district when the government announced a nationwide lockdown in March to curb the spread of Covid-19. Since then, the university has held semester examinations twice, but the final-year Masters student of International Relations has failed to appear both times, due to connectivity snags and lack of online resources.
The 25-year-old said the majority of his study material, including his laptop which has reading assistive devices, is back in his hostel room on campus. “The laptop had all my data and research work required for studies. But we have not been allowed to visit the hostel and collect our stuff till now. I have been using my sister’s laptop for the last 10 months but it does not have the reading software,” he said.
Singh hails from humble roots, his father is a farmer and mother is a homemaker. The lockdown and the pandemic have been difficult on all of them, but especially on him because his mobility has been restricted. “It’s been so harsh and challenging without any help. Also, it’s restricted because of the lack of internet. In our area, the connectivity is so poor. One can’t attend an online class without it getting disconnected,” he said.
Also Read | ‘Exercise caution’: MHA tells states in wake of new Covid-19 strain, new year
Many of his friends couldn’t appear in the first online exam, conducted on August-September, but managed in the second iteration of the examination that started this month. “But I can’t even go to cyber cafés since I would require human assistance. We could not get even the minimum during the pandemic,” he said.
University authorities said they have already given multiple opportunities for students to appear in exams and complete the academic year. “In case some students are still left behind, the university will help them. It’s been an unprecedented year and the administration is helping students in every way,” said a senior administrative official.
Singh hoped the university gives him another chance, with a pen-and-paper examination, and feared he might lose a year if he didn’t complete the pending semester at the earliest. “I can only take admission in any other course after completing my semester. Otherwise, I will have to drop a year and I do not want that,” he said.
He is not alone.
The pandemic upended academic calendars across the country as fears of infection forced authorities to shut schools and colleges and shift all teaching online. Many students missed semesters, or lost their chance to go abroad for studies. Others waited anxiously for dates of competitive professional entrance exams, like JEE or NEET that they spent years preparing for.
Disputes about national tests reached the Supreme Court, and board examination dates for the following year have still not been finalised. What’s more, thousands of students — mainly from lower-income backgrounds — were forced to drop out of school as a contracting economy hurt family incomes and made paying fees difficult.
Anxiety around the virus and its transmission also revolutionised teaching methods and how we study, from the elementary to the graduate level. Classrooms became small square boxes on a zoom call, classroom chatter became encrypted chat boxes and daily attendance became a sign-in password. You needn’t talk loudly in class to interrupt it any more, you could now pass around the zoom link and wait for strangers to disrupt teaching.
“We are definitely not going back to pre-Covid style of teaching and learning even after reopening the schools. Education from now on will be blended, interdisciplinary and integrated,” said Jyoti Arora, principal of Mount Abu Public School in Rohini. “The pandemic changed the education sector forever.”
Arora explained that the pandemic initially caught teachers on the wrong foot as everyone was not skilled in using technological learning tools and online learning lacked a structured environment for students.
“But this challenge was eventually turned into an opportunity by introducing experiential learning, art integration and critical thinking aspect to the virtual mode curriculum,” she added.
Some of the most anxious were final-year students in high schools and colleges: the former over competitive exams and the latter over job prospects, term-end tests and higher education abroad.
“There is a general sense of despondency and gloom in final-year students as they face difficulty in scheduling their career,” said Tanvir Aeijaz, an associate professor of Political Science at Delhi University’s Ramjas College. “Those who applied abroad aren’t sure about admissions and mode of studies. While many made changes in plans, some started higher education online,” he added.
Ripple effect of the pandemic-hit academic year is likely to be felt for years. Nearly 24 million children globally are at risk of not returning to school next year, estimated UNICEF in August, and girls and women may be disproportionately affected. A World Bank report in October estimated that the prolonged closure of schools may cause a loss of $400 billion in India’s future earnings.
The brunt of this disruption may be borne by children from weaker backgrounds, who lost access to assured meals, free textbooks and other facilities. “There is an immense loss of learning among such children. Prolonged closure of schools and financial crises wrought by the lockdown enforced to curb the pandemic has pushed a lot of poor children into child labour,” said Sanjay Gupta, director of CHETNA (Childhood Enhancement Through Training and Action), a non-governmental organisation.

JEE Main 2021 March session: Registration ends today, here's direct link
- JEE Main 2021 March session: Interested and eligible candidates can apply for JEE mains 2021 March session online at jeemain.nta.nic.in.

ICAI CA May exam 2021 schedule for foundation course released, check here
- ICAI CA May exam 2021: Candidates can check the ICAI CA May examination schedule for the Foundation course online at icai.org.

UPSC Recruitment 2021: 30 vacancies for various posts notified, check details
- The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has invited online applications for lateral recruitment of Joint Secretary and Director level officers (Group ‘A’) in different ministries/departments with headquarters at New Delhi.

TNUSRB constable marks 2020 released at tnusrbonline.org, here's direct link
- TNUSRB constable marks 2020: Candidates who have not cleared the TNUSRB constable recruitment examination can check their marks online at tnusrbonline.org.

Punjab govt to accord status of state university to two engineering colleges

IIM Udaipur placements: 322 students get offer from over 100 companies

IIT Jammu inks MoU with Army's Northern Command
- The Indian Institute of Technology Jammu on Friday entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Army's Northern Command providing innovative solutions through exhaustive research and development in Jammu and Kashmir, an official said.

CBSE revises board exam dates for few class 10, 12 subjects

JEE Main 2021: Last minute tips to crack it like a topper

CBSE class 10 maths exam 2021: Top tips to boost your score

CBSE Revised Date Sheet for 10th and 12th board exams 2021 released
- The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Friday released a revised date sheet for Class 10 and Class 12 board exams 2021.

DSSSB Recruitment 2021: More than 1800 vacancies notified for various posts
- Delhi Subordinate Staff Selection Board on Thursday released an advertisement to fill more than 1800 vacancies under various departments under the Govt of NCT of Delhi.

Delhi govt organises session on UPSC exams, officers share tips and strategies

Firm Vahan says placed 1 lakh blue, grey collared workers through WhatsApp API

TANCET 2021 Hall Ticket released, here's direct link to download admit card
- Anna University has released the TANCET 2021 hall ticket/admit card on Friday March 5, 2021.