English Essay On Educational Impact of COVID-19 Coronavirus

Educational Impact of COVID-19 Coronavirus

COVID-19 will forever be known as the virus that shuts down the world. It has changed our lives in many ways that we never thought possible. One of the most significant impacts of this pandemic has been in the field of education where it has led to the largest disruption of global education systems in history. When schools and colleges around the world closed due to COVID-19 lockdowns, students and educators alike were left wondering what the future holds.

Remote or Virtual learning has now replaced traditional classrooms, however, the switch from pen and paper to online education comes at a high cost. Technology like computers and high-speed internet needed to attend remote learning sessions is not readily available to students from low-income families. This has led to a lot of educational inequality in this new virtual learning system. Even though many governments around the world provide laptops and internet services to students in need, these efforts have not been enough to avoid the educational inequality experienced by students. Children who depend on schools for their daily meals are also at risk of going hungry due to school closures.

School and colleges are also places where students get to socialize with their peers and take part in extracurricular activities like sports and arts. However, due to the closure of educational institutions, such gatherings, and fun activities have all disappeared. Not having physical social interactions have affected the mental well-being of students, many of whom report feeling isolated and lonely since they cannot meet their classmates and friends. The switch to remote learning happened abruptly, which left students as well as teachers and school officials scrambling to adapt to virtual learning systems fast. Teachers had to figure out tasks like how to create presentations for remote classrooms, perform labs, teach arts and crafts virtually, etc., without having received adequate training to do so.

Many educators also find it harder to gauge and maintain student engagement in remote sessions compared to in-person classes. Students also find it hard to ask questions and get the necessary help they need from teachers in virtual classrooms. As a result, reports indicate that more middle and high school students are failing in exams since the switch to remote education took place.

Another tricky problem when it comes to implementing online learning is the question of how to hold exams in a way that ensures that students will not be able to cheat. Some higher education institutions like international universities are using online proctoring systems to monitor the student’s activities while taking exams, but since the method is expensive as well as intrusive, most schools and colleges prefer not to use them. In many cases, exams are being postponed or canceled, leading to a lot of uncertainty, adding to the stress of students who are already having a tough time adjusting to the new way of learning. College admissions and study abroad programs have also been affected by the cancellation of exams.

In conclusion, the global educational community has been largely successful in its switch to virtual learning, despite the abrupt way that it had to be implemented. It is highly doubtful that remote learning will replace in-person education any time soon, but we can expect to see more virtual educational systems in a post-covid world than there existed before it.