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It's time to re-open educational institutions

Published : Sunday, 23 May, 2021 at 12:00 AM  Count : 1115

Anik Ahmed

Anik Ahmed

All educational institutions across the country have been closed for about 14 months due to the Corona pandemic. Several times in the last 14 months, the opening of schools, colleges and universities was announced, but it was not possible ultimately. So, the education of about 4 crore students is now in disarray.

Since the onset of the coronavirus infection, the government has taken various measures to reduce the damage to business, trade, health, livelihood and economy. However, not all the damage caused by the pandemic is financial. Some damage is more than that. Education has suffered the most in Corona. Its effects are long-term and far-reaching.

At present, our entire education system is going through four major setbacks. Firstly, teachers are not getting the opportunity to teach in the classroom. To reduce this loss, the government tried to introduce online education as well as radio, TV-based educational activities. But only 56 per cent of students have been able to engage in these distance learning activities, according to a BRAC survey. Moreover, there is no opportunity to ask questions in the one-sided education system of television. As a result, students are losing interest in it.

Secondly, all types of student assessments, including classroom-based assessments and test-based assessments, have stalled. In the last academic year, students from primary to higher secondary have passed the next class without any assessment. The government could not take important public exams like Higher Secondary Examination (HSC). As a result, for the first time since 1971, the government had to walk the path of 'auto promotion' in public examinations.

This year too, the examinees have fallen into uncertainty. The Ministry of Education had planned to take classes of SSC students for 60 days and HSC students for 64 days by preparing a short syllabus. But due to the second wave of the corona, this planning is going to be ruined.

Now, the authorities of the Inter-Education Board are planning to postpone the two examinations for two months. As a result, it is not possible to say for sure whether it will be possible to evaluate the students this year as well. Considering the situation, the decision of auto-promotion may come for the second year in a row. This will have a long-term negative impact on the entire education system.

Thirdly, the whole curriculum has become chaotic under the influence of the Corona pandemic. The curriculum and syllabus are not being followed. Although a short syllabus has been prepared, it is not possible to follow as the class activities have not started. Moreover, the admission test of public universities has been suspended for almost a year.
 
Fourthly, students' psychosocial development is being hampered by the fact that children have been out of the classroom for a long time. Student drop-out, child labour, child marriage, infant and maternal mortality rates appear to be on the rise in Corona.

Although the universities started taking limited exams for different batches, it is currently closed. Students have been facing session jam as they could not sit for exam. Students are repeatedly demanding to open the university and take exams to reduce the session jam. In response to their demands, several public universities, including Dhaka University, are taking the initiative to complete the postponed exams online. It is a matter of concern how the institutions, that have failed to provide proper online classes, will conduct online exams in the shortest possible time.

On the other hand, there is also inequality in online teaching. Students from affluent families in the city are already ahead in their studies. In the last 14 months, attempts have been made to open many sectors of the country on an experimental basis. But no such risk had been taken in the case of educational institutions. The question remains, why did the second wave come even after the closure of educational institutions for a long time? It is easy to assume that the new corona infection or the second wave is not directly related to the educational institution. A recent global study conducted by UNESCO-UNICEF says the same thing. Therefore, there is no scientific basis for saying that the corona infection has come under control due to the closure of educational institutions.

Autonomous universities may consider starting educational activities in compliance with health regulations. Vaccination should be arranged for the protection of all students above the age of 18 as soon as possible in consultation with the government. After that, all the educational institutions of the country will have to be opened in stages.

Corona is causing long-term damage to education, which should be borne in mind for several years. In the future, classrooms, as well as online activities, can be run simultaneously to nurture the loss of students. In that case, emphasis should be laid on building infrastructure for such a mixed education system as soon as possible. It is vital to ensure high-speed internet for all regions of the country and digital content for students from all walks of life.

The government has announced incentives in various sectors. It will also have to announce incentive packages in the education sector. The loss of education is not easily seen. Even if you invest in the education sector, it will take time to get results. There is no alternative to taking the appropriate steps with the concerted, all-out efforts and necessary investment to recover the loss.

The writer is pursuing LLB at Department
of Law, University of Rajshahi












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