MAY 2020| EDITION 1
ECONOMIC POLICY
CONTRIBUTORS – AASTHA WALIA, YATHANSH KAUSHIK JOSHI
SOCIAL POLICY INTEGRATION
REGIONAL GOVERNANCE
Impact of Coronavirus on the Education System
With the onset of the Fourth Phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, we can clearly see how it has significantly
disrupted various sectors of the economy and is expected to have enormous consequences worldwide. There is
hardly any sector left which remains uninfluenced by this widespread. The same is for the education sector.
Unspare by the effects, there is a devastating impact on global education.
As a measure to contain the spread of this novel coronavirus, it has forced the authorities to temporarily shut-
down all the educational institutes from schools to colleges. These nationwide closures are impacting almost
70% of the world’s student population. Several other countries have implemented localized closures
impacting millions of additional learners. According to the latest figures released by UNESCO, some 1.3
billion learners around the world were not able to attend school or university as of March 23, 2020.
UNESCO's figures refer to learners enrolled at
pre-primary, primary, lower-secondary, and
upper-secondary levels of education as well as at
the tertiary level. 1,379,344,914 students or 80
percent of the world's learners are now being
kept out of educational institutions by country-
wide closures. Another 284 million learners are
being affected in some way by closures at a
localized level, such as those seen in U.S. states
like California and Virginia. 138 governments
have now ordered country-wide closures of their
schools and universities.
Effects on the various stakeholders of the Education System
In response to school closures, UNESCO recommended the use of distance learning programs and open
educational applications and platforms that schools and teachers can use to reach learners remotely and limit
the disruption of education. Many schools moved to online distance learning via platforms like Zoom. The
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has created a framework to guide an education
response to the COVID-19 Pandemic for distance learning. The dynamics of a physical class are diametrically
different from conducting virtual classes, but professors and teachers have pitched in enthusiastically and
innovatively so that the challenges posed by the pandemic in continuous education can best be minimized. But
only some schools or institutes could adopt online teaching methods whereas low-income schools may not be
able to adopt online teaching methods.
Children are stranded at home, with no physical activities or interactions with their friends. The routine has
gone haywire and there is no separation between home time and school time. There is hardly any control over
a structured learning environment at home. There is some degree of inconvenience in terms of all students
having access to proper resources, especially the children of the lowest rung of the society, who have been
caught up with their livelihood challenges. Lack of access to technology or good internet connectivity is an
obstacle to continued learning, especially for students from disadvantaged families.
According to the 75th report of the National Sample Survey
Office (NSSO) for 2017-18, it highlights some of the major
issues that this new model would have to address. All
India’s percentage of households having internet facilities
stands at 23.8% with rural availability at 14.9% and urban
at 42%. The problem does not end there, as having a facility
does not mean it would be used. The percentage of people
who were able to use the internet (all-India) stood at 20.1%
with rural at 13% and urban at 37.1%. These statistics strike
at the core rationale of using the internet as a mode to
impart education and highlight how a majority of the
country would be left out of the quest to achieve basic
education in the months to come.
Apart from the above factors, there is an even more basic
issue at stake. The closure of schools has serious implications on the daily nutrition of students as the mid-day
meal schemes have temporarily been shut. As of March 31, 2019, close to 12 crore students across the country
were provided with food under mid-day meal schemes. Additionally, the loss of income for a considerable
population in India is going to further worsen the situation. CMIE’s data suggests that 11.9 crore people have
lost employment in the two weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown. Investment in education is not going to be a
priority, amongst disadvantaged households, and we might see a dip in enrolment.
Hence, school closures in response to
COVID-19 have shed light on various
social and economic issues, including
student debt, digital learning, food
insecurity, and homelessness, as well
as access to childcare, health care,
housing, internet, and disability
services. The impact was more severe
for disadvantaged children and their
families, causing interrupted learning,
compromised nutrition, childcare
problems, and consequent economic
cost to families who could not work.
March-April is considered a crucial
period as it rolls out the process of new admissions for the next academic session. Students have been caught
in a crosswire where for many the ongoing exams were interrupted and for those whose results aren’t still out,
face a degree of uncertainty with respect to their future. These students are in a bigger quandary because not
only their education process is disrupted, but they are put up in a big challenge of proving themselves for their
next journey.
Some of the few ways recommended by UNESCO to alleviate the effect on the underprivileged include-
➔ Examining the readiness and choosing the most relevant tools: The authorities should decide on the use of
high-technology and low-technology solutions based on the reliability of local power supplies, internet
connectivity, and digital skills of teachers and students. This could range through integrated digital learning
platforms, video lessons, MOOCs, to broadcasting through radios and TVs.
➔ To ensure students including those with disabilities or from low-income backgrounds have access to distance
learning programs, temporarily decentralizing such devices from computer labs to families and supporting
them with internet connectivity should be considered.
Thus, with the schools closed-down, the children and youth are deprived of opportunities for growth and
development, and they have fewer opportunities for learning at home. To deal with this crisis and lessen its
future effects, effective educational practices are needed for the capacity-building of young minds. Full
advantage should be taken from the opportunities available to us and for those who still lack the basic
resources, effective ways should be developed so that no sector is left without taken care of.
COVID-19 and Its Impact on Education : A Brief Overview
Till the beginning of March, no one had ever predicted that within the span of a few weeks, our lives were
going to change in the most drastic and sudden manner. As COVID-19 spread across the globe and countries
started imposing lockdowns to curb its spread, it meant that all undergoing economic, social and educational
activities had to be stopped immediately. By the end of March, it was no less than a global shutdown, and it
felt as if the world had come to a pause after a very long time.
While the lockdown had consequences for a wide variety of aspects of life and sectors of society, a major
impact it has is on the education sector and on the lives of millions of students across the world, in various
schools, universities and those seeking employment opportunities. Many students were scheduled to give
their final exams for their semesters or the board exams, while those in the final years of their education at
the Universities missed out on placement opportunities as well as on their exams and results. This was also
the time when a lot of crucial entrance examinations are conducted for the purposes of admission into
various prestigious institutes like the IITs, the IIMs, NLUs, etc., however all of it came to a standstill. While
many of these exams were postponed, there still remains a lot of uncertainty in the minds of the students as
regards the future of their academic progress and their career. Universities and Schools face an
unprecedented crisis of shifting to online modes of education and distance learning, and their lack of
preparedness for the same becomes a challenge more often than not. Many a times, distance learning and
online modes of education are not feasible or accessible for a large number of students due to unavailability
of internet and other issues at their home. Those who study in government schools, including kids of migrant
labourers and manual skilled and unskilled workers, are completely displaced from their homes and their
mode of livelihood, and receiving education becomes the last of their priority when they struggle to feed
themselves every day in the absence of work. Apart from that, a lot of students had procured admission in
foreign international institutes for the purposes of higher education. While for many these plans have been
put to hold, a lot of them are stuck in these countries by virtue of having travelled there beforehand and
unable to travel back to home due to the travel restrictions imposed by almost all the countries of the world.
Thus, the imparting of education and its entire mechanism has faced a wall that has shattered all its erstwhile
modes of functioning, calling for a more nuanced strategy to deal with the same.
While it is indeed true that a lot of schools and
institutions are adapting to the change, with the
commencement of online classes, assignments, and
planning for a revised strategy and academic calendar,
one cannot simply overlook or chose not to work
towards addressing the challenges and obstacles that
Students and others will face due to the same. At the
same time, it is important to note, acknowledge and
appreciate the efforts being made and the steps being
taken by the government in trying to help the education
sector cope with the impact, and it has published
various guidelines and directions to help with it.
Like every other challenge, the lockdown due to
COVID-19 also provides us with an opportunity to
improvise and update ourselves, and for the education
sector to reflect back and assess on its advancement and
capability to fulfil its objectives and aims no matter
what the situation turns out to be.
References
1. https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse
2. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/infographic-covid19-coronavirus-impact-global-education-
health-schools/
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_education
4. http://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/publication_reports/KI_Education_75th_Final.pdf
5. https://thewire.in/education/coronavirus-lockdown-education-students
6. https://government.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/education/covid-19-pandemic-impact-and-strategies-
for-education-sector-in-india/75173099.
7. https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/featurephilia/story/how-is-the-covid-19-pandemic-affecting-
education-all-over-the-world-1664380-2020-04-07.
8. https://blogs.worldbank.org/education/managing-impact-covid-19-education-systems-around-world-how-
countries-are-preparing.
CPRG NEWSLETTER MAY, 2020 EDITION 1