Daily Times

The global health pandemic has shined a harsh light on the vulnerabilities and challenges humanity faces. It has provided a clear picture of existing inequalities—and a clearer picture of what steps forward we need to take, among them addressing the education of more than 1.5 billion students whose learning has been hampered due to school closures. It is evident that we cannot return to the world as it was before. It is particularly important that the world supports developing countries with investment in 21st century education infrastructures; this will require the mobilization of resources and support from developed countries, in particular with debt cancellation, restructuring, and new financing.

With the development of technologies and within a modern society, smart education will confront many challenges, such as pedagogical theory, educational technology leadership, teachers’ learning leadership, educational structures and educational ideology. E-learning is getting more scope since the closure of school education. Apart from these factors financial support from government, motivation of students and well trained tutors are the key factor of the successful implementation of E-learning. The challenges and opportunities also vary from country to country based on the infrastructure and the stockholders. But the magnitude of this challenge is clearly evident with regard to the digital divide in the World. Only 11% of learners in Africa have a household computer and in Pakisan only 14% have household internet, as compared to the 50% of learners globally who have computers in the home and the 57% who have access to internet.

History is being written with great speed and we are faced with choices and decisions that will define the futures of education. We urgently need investment and structural change so that short-term setbacks do not grow into larger, long-lasting problems

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development needs remarkable innovation in the responses of educators to the COVID-19 crisis. The school as a physical space is indispensable. Traditional classroom organization must give way to a variety of ways of doing school but the school as a separate space-time of collective living, specific and different from other spaces of learning must be preserved. We have to make free and open source technologies available to teachers and students. Open educational resources and open access digital tools must be supported. We must ensure scientific literacy within the curriculum.

The pandemic has forced a massive shift away from learning and teaching in traditional settings with physical interactions. This is a major problem for children living in poverty worldwide, who often rely on the physical setting of their schools to provide educational materials, guidance, and, sometimes, the only decent meal of the day. And, for learners of all ages, as internships and apprenticeships have been cancelled, technical and vocational education programmes closed down, and community centres shuttered.

History is being written with great speed and we are faced with choices and decisions that will define the futures of education. We urgently need investment and structural change so that short-term setbacks do not grow into larger, long-lasting problems. There is a serious risk that COVID-19 will wipe out several decades of progress—most notably the progress that has been made in addressing poverty and gender equality. Decisions made today in the context of COVID-19 will have long-term consequences for the futures of education.

The writer is an economist, anchor, analyst and the President of All Pakistan Private Schools Federation.

President@pakistanprivateschools.com