Effect of COVID 19 on the education sector

The COVID-19 crisis has resulted in India going into an unprecedented nation-wide lockdown in the months of March, April, and now May 2020. The effect of the pandemic is being felt across all aspects of the economy and especially in school in Gurgaon. The GDP is expected to fall as low as 2.5 percent in this calendar year.

The Indian government has responded to this by providing several guidelines including the restricting movement of people and social distancing.

Closure of school worldwide

The spread of COVID-19 has forced many educational institutions across the globe to close campuses. India has over 37 million students enrolled in higher education.

An interruption in the delivery of education could cause long term disruption. The pandemic requires school in Gurgaon to rapidly offer online learning to their students. Fortunately, technology and content are available to help schools transition online quickly and with high quality.

Education bodies have also issued COVID-19 specific guidelines – colleges temporarily closed, students being asked to go home, and efforts being undertaken to move classes online. Higher education leaders are also concerned that an extended lockdown due to the pandemic could have a deeper impact for the sector.

The COVID-19 has already disrupted the current admissions cycle and might have an effect on enrolments, create a cash flow crunch, slowdown research and consulting activities.

This year, close to 1.44 crore students are appearing for their school-leaving exams.

Among these, close to 50 lakh of these students will be looking to enroll in a higher education institution in this academic session. Institutions planning for their admissions cycle will need to muster their limited resources.

They need to have an agile response plan to COVID-19, and build resilience to minimize the impact on their enrolments, diversity of students, and revenues. In schools in Gurgaon, we will continue to prepare students for global challenges with 21st-century skills. During these uncertain times across the country, we are committed to continue the learning experience of students, by adapting ourselves to an alternate model of online classes and learning resources.

As for schools in Gurgaon, health and safety of our students and the communities in which we operate is of paramount importance to us. The schools in Gurgaon believe online learning is a safe option in these risky and uncertain times.

The students can study from the safety of their home and avoid travel to public places. We are closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19 and are here to assist students and schools with all their learning needs.

EMERGENCE OF E-LEARNING

The culture of e-learning is slowly becoming the new norm. The students in schools in Gurgaon are slowly adjusting to getting their daily dose of the prescribed syllabus through the internet.

The virtual classrooms might not provide the same level of communication that can be offered in a physical classroom. So, UNESCO is encouraging communities to enhance their level of interaction between students, teachers and parents. It will better address the inevitable sense of isolation that will most-likely surface soon and also be equipped to cope with mental health issues, such as loneliness and a foreboding sense of failure.

E-learning in schools in Gurgaon will be new and confusing for students. Especially in light of the bleak situation that has created the demand for it, it may actually usher in a new age of education.

Desperate times call for desperate measures and the time to bring innovation to education is now.

Schools in some parts of the world have already begun using interactive applications to stay in touch with students and are also broadcasting lectures, live. With the time to commute cut down to nothing, students are now finding more time on their hands to indulge in what catches their fancy. The state of alarm imposed by the nations can really bring out the best in students.

This time can be used to hone and polish skills, or even better, engage themselves and learn a whole new skill.
Education is going to be digital in the foreseeable future and with the right infrastructure and policies in place, we would be better prepared to handle it.