The second wave of the Corona pandemic has hit India in the worst manner and the country is grappling with its impacts. As was done during the first wave of the virus, the second wave also left our business establishments closed, markets shut and life out of gear. Schools and colleges are also shut, as was done in 2020 and a very scary situation prevails.
Governments promoted tenth graders without exams. XII class exams didn’t even seem to happen. Several Boards of Education in different states and UT’s have also sought the results of pre-board examinations from educational institutions. Given the circumstances, it is felt that the results of Plus Two students will be deducted on their basis, meaning that the students may not sit for their final examinations. But one wonders what will happen to the future of these promoted students first studying online and now having been promoted without sitting in the exams.
Parents, teachers and even administrators feel that most of students do not understand much of online education. Where parents are illiterate or students are not serious about their studies or lack facilities, one can imagine the fate of online education. In rural or backward areas where mobile network is not well developed and people are not well versed with technology, how much education is being imparted to children through online mode? How effective it will be, we can only guess.
Let’s face it, online learning doesn’t replace classroom teaching in any way. In such a scenario, promoting students without exams may seem right given the circumstances but what will be their future? Tomorrow when these students will be sitting in front of a panel for a job interview, they will look at their profile and remember that they were promoted and didn’t get a chance to sit in the exams. This might also impact their decision making in the long run. Securing 100% marks is surely a luxury with the online format but it does not tell you much about the student’s efficiency.
Today, perhaps no one is thinking about it as the situation has become such that there is no other option but to prefer technology oriented education. It is also true that if there is life then there is the world. But in the future it will emerge as a new challenge. Just as time cannot be turned back, so the time of the students cannot be turned back as well. The students should also engage in their studies with utmost sincerity while understanding their responsibilities in this hour of worst epidemic. They should not think that they have given up their studies but should take the challenges ahead very seriously.
After studying online for over a year now, students must understand how difficult this period is for their parents-how difficult it is for many parents to give their children smart phones for their education. The slightest negligence on their part may shatter all the dreams of their parents.
Let’s make judicious use of technology and believe that this is not the end of the times. We shall definitely have our earlier routines in place once the pandemic is under control. The best situation would be to see our schools and colleges as well as universities functioning normally and class work happening in the manner in which it was happening before the covid scenario.
