Education is the key to success. It is the basic right of every human being. It is knowledge that comes through education which helps children grow and adapt. Schools give them the experience that they need, an opportunity to socialise. Covid – 19 pandemic has changed all of this. Online education came into mass play for the first time in India. Classes, theory or practical were taken up through Zoom, Google classroom etc. Education became digital.
A 6-year-old child will never be able to sit in front of a chair staring at laptop or phone for hours. But online education made them sit. However, did the children learn from it is the question. School gives students an area of calmness where they can study, it’s an environment to learn which cannot be provided at home. Yes, online class did reduce travelling for teachers and children but it also reduced the one-to-one interactive bond that the student-teacher develop.
The only way of knowing whether the students have learned something or no in the academic year is through examinations. But since the exams have also been made online no one knows if the students are writing the exams genuinely. Some institution make sure the video is on during exam but one cannot deny that cheating does not happen. With everything happening online in home environment how will the students survive at work place is the another question in front of us all.
Last year an advertisement went viral, and it said 2021 passed out candidates are not eligible for jobs. Even though the organisation changed it later, it was a shock to many of the students. Many educational institutions are calling their students back to rewrite their online exams offline while students are rallying for online exams. Yes, that is the easier way out without going to college/school but that will not benefit the students’ future. To get jobs, they would have to take up face to face interviews, write exams, and as preparation, annual/semester exams are the only experience that people get.
Offline education is more beneficial for the future life of students if one looks at the bigger picture. Instead of thinking for now, they have to think for future. Working hard, learning skills through interaction and observation is what will give them a safe future which online education will not provide them with. For the future of children, and for the future of India proper structurised education is the need of the hour.
