Covid-19 - Impact on Young Mind Role of Teachers and Govt. Endeavor
The globe turned upside down by the recent pandemic and lives of people never remained the same as before.Almost every person has to adjust to this dramatic change in their routine life. While some of them adjusted with ease while some others undergone traumatic experiences during this lockdown period. But the most vulnerable are the young children. They are facing double wallop - there is the disease itself and the fear of it.
According to psychologists, daily routines help in regulating stress. People who are outside regularly have lower activity in that part of brain that focuses on repetitive negative emotions. But with the lockdown, children no longer able to go to school or play with neighbourhood friends. Moreover, too much exposure to Covid - related information through the media and their social interaction and through table talk in many families is only multiplying the anxiety of young minds. Very often, what children hear is beyond their understanding; and ignorance at many times brings unrealistic conclusions leading suffering and anxiety of young minds. Researchers have noticed that, parents who perceive themselves as more stressed by the quarantine reported their children had more emotional problem. At the same time, with the shut down of education institutions there likely appears the possibility of intellectual shut down too.
With such present scenario, children are getting confused, stressed and panicking. Now it’s the time to contemplate what should be our role as a teacher. Since time immemorial, teachers are always considered to be torchbearer, path finder and role model. The famous student quote makes sense here –
“To the world, you may be just a teacher
but to your students, you are a hero.”
As things continued to get worse day by day, we are bound to adapt ourselves to a new way of life and living. In the sphere of education also we have to shift from traditional mode of class room teaching to a new era of e- learning. The e- learning concept has been around for several years but was not highly popular due to many of its shortcoming like- lack of individual attention, monitoring etc. But since the epidemiological impact has
change the learning system so dramatically that we have left with no option. More and more virtual institutions are coming up making education a click away.
But here the challenges are manifold. Since it is the teacher who acts as a learning facilitator to shape the young mind and guide them through online education, he is expected to be competent enough to establish meaningful human relationship through online educational portal. Known to be the architect of our nation, they provide the mould in which the nation’s character is cast through online education. The teacher must have the aptitude and attitude to learn and overcome new challenges of this new mode of unconventional teaching. A teacher cannot truly teach unless he continuously learns. Some teachers may not be familiar with this remote teaching system or may not have enough exposure. But they have to prepare themselves for the digital classroom where traditional classroom may be converted to Zoom and home works
will be sent by e-mails and Whatsapp .
The role of a teacher in post Covid is a challenge in such a situation. He has to be a good communicator,subtle and indirect in speech, good listener, catalyst for change, facilitator, positive thinker, dynamic personality, creator of right and joyful environment and so on.
Of course, there are some challenges, for e.g. students residing in rural areas will not have access to digital tools and equipment like computer, mobile or internet etc. so also same is the case of low- income families of urban areas. Moreover, there is lack advantage of monitoring, no games period, no cultural activities and no more excursion etc.
This new age model, in most cases cannot replace classroom education due to its personalized nature of attention and face to face interaction. So far, e- learning has proved a boon for urban areas. It should be further expanded to serve the rural and undeserved hinterlands as well as differently abled section of society. The Govt. has undertaken many steps considering all these factors to promote education with equity.
1.The one nation one platform facility through the P.M. E-Vidya platform and a dedicated channel for students from class 1 to class 12 and online course to university level that will liberalize the distance of privilege and underprivileged class.
2.The SWAYAM PRABHA a group of free 32 DTH channels have been devoted to telecast high quality educational programmes on 24x7 basis using the GSAT-15 satellite across the country. The channels provide both school education and higher education in a wide range of subjects like engineering, vocational courses, performing arts, social sciences and humanities subjects, law, medicine, agriculture and many more. https://www.swayamprabha.gov.in
3.The Assam government has a similar educational channel GYAN BRIKHYA under Samagra Shiksha Mission, Assam in collaboration with Prag News where study material of different classes are being provided according to the academic calendar in Assamese, Bangla and Bodo content. This channel is trying to replicate traditional classes through live classes and trying to reach those students lacking facilities of smartphones and internet
connection.
4.At present 289 community radio stations are being used throughout the country. All India Radio, Guwahati has also started from 6th April Pragya – the radio class to help students during the lockdown period. The radio programme has been broad casted at 5.45 p.m. on every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in association with Sarva Shiksha Abbhiyan, Assam and S.C.E.R.T.
5.Students have also the support of the BISWA VIDYA YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND APP during this time.
6.Different course of contents has already been uploaded in DIKSHA APP of Ministry of Human Resource and Development with N.C.T.E. for strengthening of text book. More than 3,50,000 students have downloaded the DIKSHA APP during this Covid lockdown period in Assam. https://seshagun.gov.in/shagun
7.The NATIONAL DIGITAL LIBRARY is a digital platform providing vast amount of academic content in different formats in all disciplines and for differently abled learners. https://nl.iitkgp.ac.in/
8. The e-PATHSALA is a web portal and mobile app designed and developed by the N.C.E.R.T. It has 1886 audios, 2000 videos, 696 e- books and 504 Flip books for classes 1-12 in different languages. http://epathsala.gov.in
9.In order to retain the mental health of our students as well as teachers, a state level training programme was being organized by NIRDPR-NERC and Samagra Shiksha Abbhiyan , Assam on the topic of ‘On Management of Mental wellbeing and During Covid – 19 Pandemic’ from 9th -11th June.
The ongoing Covid - 19 crisis has presented us an opportunity to rethink the deep-rooted classroom mode of education and underscored the significance of online learning. It has been a great leveller as it has enabled various stakeholders to collaborate and assess the gap and shortcomings in the conventional model. The covid -19 pandemic may be just the ‘tipping point’ for reform of the Indian education system.
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Jepulin Das
Assistant Teacher
Satpakhali M.V. Scool
Rampur Block
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