Education during COVID-19 pandemic: A critical analysis on Alternative educational methods for a sustainable education

Covid-19 impact on education

1. Education during COVID-19 pandemic: A critical analysis on Alternative educational methods for a sustainable education Pavithra N., Research scholar, IC COHS, CCSHAU, Hisar, Haryana.

2. Abstract: Education is a novel phenomenon in which the teacher teaches and a learner learns with a common motive of knowledge transfer as well as attaining wisdom resulting in an empowered society and ultimately an empowered nation. Apart from this, the incidence of a natural disaster or calamity is not possible to predict accurately especially in the case of pandemic even with the modern advanced technologies. Covid-19, a disastrous pandemic called by WHO, paralyzed the entire world with the only left option of Lockdown and social-distancing (MOHFW, 2020 & Qian and Jiang, 2020). It has its impact almost every sector contributing the growth of a nation. Education is one such sector where millions of students, competitive exam aspirants, teachers, etc., suffering due to lock down. However, the technological development in tools and methods, this sector has given a hope to continue the process with some alternatives. In this paper, a critical analysis on some of the important educational methods and the importance of Alternative methods; advantages and disadvantages; coping strategies were discussed to suggest during this pandemic for a sustainable education. Keywords: Pandemic, Covid-19, impact on education, types of educational methods, sustainable education. 2

3. COVID - 19 Introductions and its Intense Effect COVID – 19 was first identified in Wuhan , China on December 31, 2019. The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic reported on 30 January 2020 in the state of Kerala and the affected had a travel history from Wuhan, China. The first death due to COVID-19 was reported in India on March 12, 2020 . It has affected more than 4.5 million peoples worldwide (WHO). It has affected more than 4.5 million peoples worldwide (WHO). According to the UNESCO report, it had affected more than 90% of total world’s student population during mid April 2020 which is now reduced to nearly 67% during June 2020 As per the UNESCO report, about 14 crores of primary and 13 crores of secondary students are affected which are two mostly affected levels in India. 3

4. After observing the corona virus pandemic situation the WHO advised to maintain social distancing as the first prevention step. The education sect including schools, colleges and universities became closed. Classes suspended and all examinations of schools, colleges and universities including entrance tests were postponed indefinitely. the lockdown destroyed the schedules of every student . COVID – 19 has created many opportunities to come out of the rigorous classroom teaching model to a new era of digital model . The lockdown has compelled many educational institutions to cancel their classes, examinations, internships etc. and to choose the online modes. The lockdown has given them a ray of hope for teachers and students to continue their educational activities through online . 4 Impact on Education in Particular

5. 5 Online Educational Methods

6. 6 Online Educational Platforms Teachers Students MS Teams Google Meet Zoom Whatsapp

7. Move towards Blended Learning Rise in use of Learning Management Systems Enhance the use of soft copy of learning material Improvement in collaborative work Rise in online meetings Enhanced Digital Literacy Improved the use of electronic media for sharing information World wide exposure Better time management Demand for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) 7 Advantages

8. Educational activity hampered Serious impact on health and fitness due to lockdown Unprepared teachers/students for online education Reduced global employment opportunity Increased responsibility of parents to educate their wards Loss of nutrition due to school closure Access to digital world Severe problems like poor eye sight, improper sleep, changed biological cycles, etc., Depression due to theory reading and loss of practical exposure More theory oriented approach 8 Disadvantages

9. India should develop creative strategies to ensure that all children must have sustainable access to learning during pandemic COVID-19. The Indian policies must include various individuals from diverse backgrounds including remote regions, marginalized and minority groups for effective delivery. Immediate measures are required to lessen the effects of the pandemic on job offers, internship programs, and research projects . The pandemic has created a massive rise in teleconferencing, virtual meetings, webinars and e-conferencing opportunities Indian traditional knowledge is well known for its scientific innovations, values and benefits to develop sustainable technologies and medicines, this knowledge integrated with a present-day mainstream higher education system. 9 Suggestion

10. Govt. and educational institutes should plan to continue the educational activities maintaining social distancing. 30-40% students and teachers may attend schools/colleges in two shifts per day to carry on educational activities by obeying guidelines for COVID-19. The digital capabilities and the required infrastructure must reach to the remotest and poorest communities to facilitate the students to continue their education during the pandemics. Many online learning platforms offer multiple programs on the same subjects with different levels of certifications, methodology and assessment parameters. Therefore, establishment of quality assurance mechanisms and quality benchmark for online learning programs must be developed and offered by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in India keeping in view of rapid growth of the online learning platforms. 10 The best method to be chosen during this pandemic

11. One of the appropriate educational method that can be chosen during this pandemic would be “Experimental or experiential learning” which is learning by doing. Instructions can be uploaded in common in the websites which can be downloaded and printed. This printed guide would help the students offline to perform the practical. Proper precautions can be taken with the help of parents, volunteers, etc., The government can also take a step to conduct a exam for scrutinizing the qualified candidates for recruitment. This could be announced and recruited temporarily which in future may be transformed permanently based on its level of performance. 11

12. Limitations of the experimental learning: High risk of accidents Lack of support and motivation Ignorance due to poverty Fear for compromising quality and standard of education 12

13. Advantages and opportunities The graduates and the post graduates especially unemployed graduates who are interested in teaching can be selected to take care for the experiments of students at primary school level. Since, there are so many standard, qualified but unemployed graduates, it would be a better option for Unemployment. Since, the level of population of unemployed is very high, adequate man power can be met along with proper social distancing. 13

14. Conclusion India is not fully equipped to make education reach all corners of the nation via digital platforms . The students who aren’t privileged like the others will suffer due to the present choice of digital platforms. It is need of the hour for the educational institutions to strengthen their knowledge and Information Technology infrastructure to be ready for facing COVID-19 like situations. Even if the COVID-19 crisis stretches longer, there is an urgent need to take efforts on maximum utilization of online platforms so that students not only complete their studies in this academic year but also to get ready for the future digital oriented environment. The concept of “ study from home ” though it has its benefits, it could contribute to biological issues which can be compromised by studying science though practical experiments along with proper precautions. The Indian policies must include various individuals from diverse backgrounds including remote regions, marginalized and minority groups for effective delivery of education which would be the excellent option for unemployment. 14

15. References Pravat Ku. Jena 2020a. Challenges and Opportunities created by Covid-19 for ODL: A case study of IGNOU. International Journal for Innovative Research in Multidisciplinary Filed, Volume-6, Issue- 5, Pg. 217-222. Pravat Ku. Jena 2020b. Online learning during lockdown period for covid-19 in India. International Journal of Educational Research, Volume-9, Issue- 5(8), Pg.82-92. Misra Kamlesh 2020. Covid-19: 4 negative impacts and 4 opportunities created for education. Retrieved on May 25, 2020 from https://www.indiatoday.in/educationtoday/featurephilia/story/covid-19-4-negative-impactsand--opportunities-created-for-education-1677206- 2020-05-12 Flores, M. A., and M. Gago . 2020. “Teacher Education in Times of COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal: National, Institutional and Pedagogical Responses.” Journal of Education for Teaching. doi:10.1080/02607476.2020.1799709. Nasri , N. M., H. Husnin , S. N. D. Mahmud, and L. Halim. 2020. “Mitigating the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Snapshot from Malaysia into the Coping Strategies for Pre-service Teachers’ Education.” Journal of Education for Teaching. doi:10.1080/02607476.2020.1802582. Quezada, R. L., C. Talbot, and K. B. Quezada-Parker. 2020. “From Bricks and Mortar to Remote Teaching: A Teacher Education Programme‘s Response to COVID-19.” Journal of Education for Teaching. doi:10.1080/02607476.2020.1801330. 15

16. Thank you..!! 16