The COVID-19-induced lockdown impacted all walks of life, but the most important impact has been on education. Education is fundamental for society, for social development. Our young ones have the potential to become the voice of the nation. As someone educating others, it has been a ‘striking’ journey for me!
Many students are the daughters of migrant workers who might not come back to the cities, so it will be difficult for them to continue their education. The impact of the pandemic on girls’ education is has been worse as compared to boys, and the picture is worse in rural areas.
It is true that after the lockdown millions of teenage girls will not come back to school and they just might be forced to get married. According to a UNESCO estimate, nearly 321 million Indian children were asked to stay home.
According to a National Statistical Organisation (NSO) survey, just 20% of Indians above the age of 5 had the digital literacy skills to use the internet, and only 24% of families had access to the internet. How we can cope with online education and classes without arranging smartphones and spreading awareness among their parents?
Prof Amita Rampal, Educationist, Delhi University, said, “It is estimated that about 20% of girls are not going to come back to school after lockdown….most of the girls from families of migrant workers are in the vulnerable age where they are likely to get married.”
Parents’ support plays a substantial role in the journey of education, but because of a lack of awareness, early marriage might take precedence over education for many young girls.
The second difficulty is there is a huge number of economically disadvantaged families who do not have smartphones. How will their children continue with online classes?
Its good that some private school are conducting online classes, but it would be better if government schools can also continue online class, but in a ‘smart’ way. Many government schools have not been able to maintain virtual classes due to issues like financial problems, lack of accessibility, but I feel that there are certain steps that can be implemented so that every student can take the part in the learning process. These measures include:
- Teleconferencing.
- Ways to regularly message teachers to clear doubts.
- Organizing the classes with social distancing measures.
- Use of masks and sanitisers.
- Sitting arrangement with some precautions.
- Printed self-study materials for the students.
There is an urgent need to assure parents that they must prioritise education over marriage, and also make them understand the trouble that is child marriage.
Way Forward
We can also do our bit to help. Everyone can help expand the horizon of dreams. The saying ‘Each one, teach one‘, I feel, is the best way to carry on with the exercise of nation-building. I am currently teaching 15 girls who belong to economically weaker sections.
As a teacher, tutor, and a mentor, during the lockdown, I worked to spread knowledge and awareness in my locality. I developed various tools to fulfil the need for disadvantaged girl students. I wondered, since we’ve been living with our family members rather comfortably, why shouldn’t we take some time and arrange classes for those girls who don’t have access to online classes? I helped provide counselling sessions to girls and parents from my locality, as spoke to them about reasons they should continue their education during the lockdown.
While arranging classes I conduct, here are some rules I have strictly followed:
- Distribution of washable mask which I made for my students.
- A distance of 5-feet between the students.
- Conducting classes in batches of three students each, and allowing one hour for each batch.
- Distributing handouts, written by me, to help retain all the points.
We worked on improving the reading, writing, and listening skills of many young girls.
I have been working to bridge the learning gap. I have faith in each of us to continue such initiatives and work through all such situations and challenges!