Indian Education Scenario in the COVID-19 Period: What children say about online study and exams

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world to the core. Nearly almost 80% of the educational institutions in the world temporarily called off to combat the virus.

In India, a nationwide lockdown was imposed in March 2020. With the second-largest schooling system in the world, more than 32 Crore learners have been affected in India

Virtual / Online Learning in Indian Education Scenario:

As students couldn’t step out of their homes, online learning emerged as an option of choice during the crisis. The traditional classroom has shifted to a virtual classroom while exams being taken in online mode as well.

Many EdTech companies like BYJU’S, Vedantu, Toppr, Unacademy, etc., gained market share by providing online learning to students.

We at Newsx media room wanted to know what the children thought about online learning and offline learning.  We conducted an essay competition with attractive prizes to the best essay of all. 

Have a look at the submissions below and know for yourself.

NAME: Burhanuddin Munim                                                               CLASS:6th

SCHOOL: St Marys ICSC                                                                  DATE :13-05-2021

At the start of the Online classes I honestly thought it was only for a few days but the next thing I knew it was the way of life. the online classes were not as bad as I thought, it was quite the opposite.

The teachers were very interactive and they even made us play Kahoot (quiz) which makes us enjoy studies even more then once school gets over they are extra classes such as music and art, music sir teaches us songs that are fun to learn and sing along.

then if anytime we miss are notes of any classes, we have google classroom in the first two or three months we had a few technical glitches such as the screen would bicker you could not unmute yourself and the list goes on but now after doing online classes for over a year I am the master of it. Before all of this I thought online school would not compare to offline school because online would be boring but now to think about it is not so bad.

I have adapted to it wonderfully. Online classes have even made me more Tech savvy, while earlier routine was to get up, eat breakfast, pack up books, get ready, now it is  to get up ready laptop switch on WIFI charge laptop etc. Life is strange like that

NAME: Dravee Jain                                                                             CLASS:3rd

SCHOOL: Witty World                                                                       DATE :11-05-2021

Hi I am Dravee Jain from Witty World School. I don’t like to study online. I miss my school, I miss my friends. In the beginning I missed them more. I miss celebrating my birthday in school. I miss my teachers too. This year we even miss annual day. But for our safety it is important that we study from home. My school is best. My teachers help me lot in online class. They are very good.

My teachers make sure we feel good and understand everything in our online class. I miss all physical activity in class. I miss my bench and my favorite class so much. I miss going on my school bus and picnic too. I miss going to the birthday parties of my friends. I really wish this get over so that I can go back to my school. Let’s wish for COVID to be over soon. Let’s pray for our mother nature. Let’s pray together. This time, let’s take care of our motherland. Thank You!

NAME: Rachit Gupta                                                        Class:5th

SCHOOL: Mayur public school                                     DATE :12-05-2021

Hello, I am Rachit Gupta. I am 9 years old. I study in Mayur public school in 5th class.

In starting, when I was taking online classes. It was very tough for me because if felt very boring and I could not understand the classes very well. There were lots of confusion because no one was prepared for this. I was unable to do anything in a proper way.  But when we got to understand that this situation will be continue for more time, my parents helped me with online my studies. Now, I am enjoying my studies because no tension of get up early in morning.

 I have enough time for playing and to do more activities which I couldn’t do while going to school.

Now, I learned many things in my laptop or mobile. I am enjoying my online classes.

NAME: Utkaarshaa                                                                            CLASS:6th

SCHOOL:Ryan Christain School                                                    DATE :10-05-2021

Welcoming new life – ONLINE STUDY

As a student of grade 6, initially adapting online study was a bit difficult. It was quite challenging during the initial times, I was facing a lot of difficulties like going online at a particular time, sometimes network issues, at times no internet, but as days passed through I started enjoying online studies.

I realized, I have learned more through online education.

My online learning experience has been different than what I’m used to. I love that I get to study from the comfort of my home.

The best thing about online learning is that it’s more flexible and I can save time travelling to and from school. This means I can sleep a little longer in the morning.

Online learning is helpful, as I can pause and replay the pre-recorded videos at any moment. I can do online research quickly when it comes to something I don’t know. Also, I can take a small break when I feel tired. These are the advantages that only online learning can bring about.

What I like about learning online is that I’m not as pressured to present myself as an excellent student, I can relax more, as well as think more. In a school environment, myself and other students have to pace ourselves to think, which for most of us causes stress and anxiety, but with online it’s different.

 Online learning has also made me more disciplined, as I know teachers are monitoring me through Zoom meetings.

Online education has both advantages and shortcomings, but it is an excellent method of learning that can help develop a student’s performance. This is what I understood slowly and from that time onwards I started enjoying online studies.

AME: Jash Shah                                                                                CLASS:5th

SCHOOL: Hills High International School                                    DATE :11.05.2021

Most educational institutions have moved all lectures online as an emergency response to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).I’m a Class fifth student of Hills High International School ; my school too commenced online classes post-lockdown. We had faced few problems to begin with, students encountered some difficulty in joining the “class”, or when classmates forgot to switch off their microphones during a session, we’d hear all manner of background sounds — younger siblings shouting, someone singing etc. But over time, as we all got used to the online video classes, things started working beautifully. Our teachers made lessons engaging by replacing the chalkboard with PowerPoint presentations. And now it has already become an important part of our daily lives.

During this lockdown, online classes have imposed a disciplined structure on our daily lives. Classes start at 9 am and end at 1 pm. Each period lasts about 40 minutes, and we get a 15-minute break before the next one on the timetable. We weren’t required to wear our uniforms (which made us quite happy) and the sessions were quite interactive, with live discussions. However our screen time has increased, which means that we need to cut back on some of the time we’d have spent on video games, television, or our smartphones. It has its own share of disadvantages too. Too much screen time can be bad for health. Prolonged online sessions can be overwhelming and may lead to problems related to vision, body posture, and sleep disorder. I find online learning to be extremely convenient. All I need is my laptop and books. It also keeps me productive, as I am less exhausted than when I am actually at school, and I’m no longer distracted by the people around me. Last but not least, I like that my day is so much more flexible, as I don’t have to waste time traveling to and from school. Of course, I still have to make sure I stick to a strict schedule so I don’t go off task. Overall, I find online learning to be really helpful when we are unable to go to school.

AME: Aarna Gupta                                                                            Class: 6th

SCHOOL: Maharishi Markandsehwar International school                   DATE: 9 May 2021

Due to the pandemic, I am unable to attend my classes physically at school. Initially, It was very difficult to adopt online study but after some time. I have adopted online study.

I can learn the thing without going outside and this save a lot of my time which was wasted before in travelling from home to school and school to home. I need not to wake up early to catch school bus. I can join my class instantaneous as and when I login in my room and some time enjoys breakfast along with classes.

In online classes, I can see all my classmate and teachers at a time on screen. I can talk to my friends and have fun in breaks. I submit my homework and assignments online which make me very friendly with new softwares and techniques.

I am now more familiar with technology and can work on the laptop and mobile effortlessly.

I am enjoying my studies because many topics can easily be understood on you-tube and the teacher’s videos can be seen as many times till the topic is not clearly understood.

The essays adjudged the best will be given attractive prizes.