Daily Times

In addition to affecting economies, agriculture, businesses, people’s employment and social lives in countries around the globe, where, Coronavirus has severely damaged children’s education. Students studying in schools and universities have also fallen into the trap of worrying about what the future holds for them. Since the Coronavirus started to spread in the country, all educational institutions were closed at an earlier stage as a precautionary measure. The pandemic increased rapidly, which not only delayed the exams but also preponed summer vacations.

After softening the lockdown and considering educational activities in the country, the federal government has decided to close educational institutions by July 15 instead of taking board exams. We have no alternative but to continue our education without announcing a nationwide holiday. It is beyond comprehension that this is a strategy. It is easy to announce a holiday but what effect would it have on our education, This something we are neither considering at any stage.

Many countries have turned to other alternatives to sustain children’s education. But our governments are not planning anything about children’s education. Where are the educationists and the experienced teachers who can guide this nation as to how we can and should continue educating our children in this testing time? It is also our tragedy that our politicians consider themselves educationists, philosophers, scientists as well as religious scholars. They never bother to consult with senior teachers and experts before formulating any policy let alone that on education.

Our education system has deteriorated drastically. Neither enrollment is given importance nor is the attendance of teachers considered. A few years back, the Sindh government had taken some laudable actions against the ghost teachers, which was a good move and appreciated across the Sindh. I was surprised to know that countless teachers were sitting at homes taking their salaries yet no action was taken by the previous governments. It was also learned that several teachers were also working abroad while drawing their salaries from the education department. It was a good initiative of the Sindh government to identify such ghost teachers. Later, a biometric system was also introduced in various schools to mark the attendance, which led to an increase in attendance in the schools. This system ensured attendance but the influential teachers who were helped by our politicians remained absent from schools and are still taking full advantage of their political background. There is still a need to further identify such ghost teachers, so they can be dismissed from their services and new teachers can be recruited in their places. If our government does not take drastic measures seriously, our educational institution, which is on the verge of collapse, will be further destroyed.

There is an education department that appears to be more affected by the spread of COVID-19. However, governments are taking decisions for continuing education on a small scale within their resources after the Coronavirus outbreak. To save the children’s academic year, some schools have also started online classes. Despite this, students face many problems such as a lack of internet facilities, load shedding issue, a lack of smartphones.

Some serious individuals and departments are taking concrete steps to spread education to all. One of them is PITB, Punjab. Its efforts toward online learning are commendable. The Punjab Government is going to launch a Taleem Ghar application to make local and dependent multimedia lessons available online for students of government schools from class one to eight. This is an important initiative towards the education of elementary students by using modern technology. The Taleem Ghar initiative aims to promote distance learning among students as it will also be available on local cable TV and website. This Taleem Ghar project will be beneficial for the students in the current situation.

Sindh University and Shah Abdul Latif University are also going to launch online classes. This is a commendable initiative and we are happy that such steps are being taken by our government. Meanwhile, a huge number of students studying in these universities belong to rural areas of Sindh. The administration of the universities, teachers and parents of the students are also scared because of the corona. It is also a fact that most of the students studying in these universities belong to poor families who are deprived of smartphones and live in remote areas with no internet facilities. Other students are deprived due to expensive internet packages. Nevertheless, the government’s move is appreciated.

Students are the centre and axis of all educational activities

Another step taken by the federal government to provide education is to launch a TV channel for school students across the country as well as offer online education. It needs as much encouragement at the government level as anyone needs to survive. However, in a developing country like Pakistan, making online education success is not so easy because there are so many issues. First, there is no electricity in some areas. There are no 3G and 4G services. There are many other technical issues as well. Hopefully, over time, these problems will be solved and online teaching will also improve further. There is a need for parents, teachers, students, media and the government to make above projects a success because it is a sacred mission.

The biggest responsibility in this regard lies with the student himself. Since all this is being done for the better future of this student, the burden of responsibility is also heavy on him. Students need to be given maximum time for the success of this system. The truth is that students are the centre and axis of all educational activities. And they are also major stakeholders of the education department. There are also numerous challenges that all stakeholders can work together to address, as well as secure their time and future.

We do not know when things will start to get normal, and when our kids will sit in classes. Take advantage of the support that universities are currently providing under the online education program, and spend as much time as possible on your studies. There is currently no solution without online education. Otherwise, it will be a loss. Children, parents, and the nation as a whole will suffer greatly. Of course, this testing time is challenging for us which we have to face it as a brave nation.

In this regard, a committee should be formed at the national level comprising all education experts, teachers, education policymakers, representing the provinces and other government officials working in the Ministry of Education. The committee should recommend to the government that a policy be formulated on how to overcome this dilemma. The government can take appropriate steps to continue education in schools and universities through social distance so that children’s education is not affected and school children are protected from the coronavirus pandemic.

The HEC has directed universities to start online classes immediately, but very few universities are following suit. It is also a fact that starting online classes requires adequate funding, which our governments lack. If governments can allocate funds for agriculture or SMEs, then education should also be given the same importance.

Education has become one of our weakest sectors and deserves more attention from the government. It should be given special attention as our future correlates with education. The future of children, nation and economy are connected to this education. If there is education only then can I prosper; only then can Pakistan prosper!

The writer is a student of DSS at the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. He is interested in agriculture, national and international politics