Education During Covid Crisis

Their System Our System!

Gourisankar Ghosh

It is about time to pay attention to the education of our children during COVID-19 lockdown. I am teaching an advanced course on biochemistry to the Master and PhD level students online at a university in the US. In major public and private non-profit colleges and universities in the US, online education had its slow beginning quite a few years ago on a limited basis. In those limited cases, in an effort to gather data on the success of online education, a few courses were taught online in entirety. An intense debate was in play on how to use online teaching without compromising education. In addition, even for regular in-person class room teaching, online homework and grading had been a routine. We would upload all our lectures on a university designed secured website for students to have easy access. In addition, most lectures would be podcasted (digital audio lecture file) to ensure that students can have access to the recorded lectured website for students to have easy access. In addition, most lectures would be podcasted in their computer or mobile phone. Therefore, the system has already been in place to be further exploited during a time of catastrophe.

This is exactly what happened when suddenly COVID-19 hit the universe. My university took a decision in the end of February just three weeks before the end of the quarter that all in-person classes and final exams would be switched to the digital mode. The swift conversion was possible, although not optimum, because a nearly perfect system was in place. The same is true in all other American Colleges and Universities. I believe the same is also true at all levels of education from the kindergarten to high school in all states in this country. This is possible since all students, without any exception, have computers and smart phones. Internet is fast everywhere in this country all the time. Higher education is controlled by each university or college system that is physically located within a single campus and students live in-campus or nearly. Public education at the school level is guided and funded by a county (equivalent to a district in India), not the entire state. Finally, the society is mostly homogeneous in spite of all its diversity and is focused on not to leave any child behind as far as education is concerned.  It must be noted, however, that even with all possible support not every student will do well in the online format since certain personal discipline is required for students to perform well in this new format. Parents have to change too. They must provide significant support to their children, particularly those in the kindergarten or primary levels, by being adaptive to the new system. Not all parents, for a variety of reasons, can provide such support even when they are willing to do so. However, even with these challenges, the American education system has exceeded our expectation.

Indian education system, particularly at the school level, is already very heterogeneous, being controlled by different boards of education, different modes of instruction, variation in the location of schools and disparity in the economic backgrounds of students. Indian education system is primed to serve only the ‘haves’, and ‘have nots’ are falling far and far behind. The lockdown has amplified the division further. In West Bengal, only students in private schools are faring better where there is an effort by the school to sustain classes by any means they can possibly undertake. This is however an uphill battle for teachers. To maintain the quality of teaching when roughly 30-40 teachers have to manage nearly 1500-2000 students in a private high school is tough. The fact that all teachers are not equal in terms of knowledge, effort and gadget savviness force most of the load on those who care the most. Online education is possible in private schools since nearly all attending students either own or have access to a smart phone – the main medium of communication in Bengal – allowing them to obtain instruction from teachers by WhatsApp. Painfully, only a fraction of students going to the state public schools have that luxury. This is so true in schools in rural areas – the kind of school that I attended many years ago. The effect of not learning is most severe for grade schools in rural places where the schools are closed and parents have no training to teach the kids.  A child learns the most in early ages. The consequence of the lost time in education is dire.

Parents in India, in general, are not prepared for the new mode of education. They are mostly helpless. Most teachers of the old generation are not apt to use a smart phone or computer. It is not their fault. In the middle of all this our state government is totally silent. There is not much guidance or help on how to proceed on the education front. In the US, many universities have already announced that in-person classes will remain closed in the first semester/quarter in the coming fall.  Can one imagine the state of learning in India if the disease truly spread in the coming winter and lockdown is imposed in the next academic year?

While some of the problems Indian education system is facing are unavoidable, many others are systemic. Even at the highest level, education has suffered for a long time. Even at places like Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and elite government colleges which admit students based on talent only are facing problems to continue online classes since many students are from remote places with no or weak internet connection. Those elite places were not prepared for a pandemic like COVID-19. At even higher level such as the PhD programs are suffering as well. They are totally stuck not even submit thesis or defend thesis. At my university in California, PhD students are completing, submitting and defending theses in this time of lockdown. Some students are also being allowed to perform the last few experiments before writing their thesis. Thesis committee members are doing their part diligently so that students do not suffer from extra stress. The system is in place. In Calcutta University and possibly most other public universities in India, even in a normal time, submission and completion of thesis is a truly harrowing experience that everyone wants to forget. Now at this unusual time, their research lives have completely stopped. This delay will have a lasting negative impact in their lives. This could have been avoided if only the India system was not so anti-student by default.

What are the solutions to this crisis? No solution is an easy made. But first, we need to make a resolution that education is a concern of human rights and everyone should get opportunity to be educated and that in the future we will not make the mistakes of today. That resolution aside, we should open all schools in the rural areas where COVID-19 cases are non-existent. Teachers should be cautious but engaged in teaching. The long-term solution is to bring equality between public and private education systems. It is possible. The state should provide training in digital education so that in an event of crisis they do not fall behind in adopting emergency online teaching. At least at lower levels in schools, all teachers should be prepared to teach all subjects during emergency. English as the second language should be taught right from kindergarten and be taken seriously in all public schools at all levels.