User:Bisaan2017/sandbox

Mariam Banifadel

The COVID 19 pandemic has put the spotlight on the ever-increasing structural imbalances in school education in terms of rural-urban, rich and poor and gender divide. There are reports in the media about teachers and principals of low fee private schools from across all over the country who are forced to change their job to survive and support their families as most of the schools have their shutters down due to plummeting revenues. Technology has been considered central to the reform of school education and has gained unprecedented momentum during this pandemic. It is being perceived as a panacea to combat all the education/schooling related issues, hence the hurry to transfer classrooms into the virtual world without taking into consideration the reach to all learners. Students and teachers also have their own struggles while accessing these online platforms. Due to financial constraints, students are not able to access the internet, and are devoid of electronic gadgets and laptop, phone or computer or even radio and TV. Those students who have facilities to attend to online classes face barriers in terms of unavailability of physical space, which is equally applicable to teachers who are supposed to conduct online classes from their home. Alarming is the fact that the government is oblivious to the stark realities of social inequalities which are proving to be the greatest barrier to access online education. No matter how simple a technology or plan is being used to provide education to all, some of the children will remain left out during critical situations due to multiple causes such as poverty, migration, family problems and so on. This online education is catering to the needs of a chosen few. This is a moment that exposes the many inequities in our society from the broadband and computers needed for distance education to the supportive environments needed to focus on learning. For the millions of children who are homeless, food insecure, without health care, school is often the one place where they feel safe and where they are taken care of. Upskilling and motivating teachers, organizing counselling sessions for stakeholders such as teachers, parents and students are some of the important measures. Also, there are some of principles for educators to consider during covid 19. Change the learning goals and the learning process and Design learning activities for the distance learning environment.