COVID-19 pandemic has been proven to go far beyond health crisis; it has indiscriminately been impacting various
sectors with its ramifications on the education sector urging governments to extend the duration of school closures that have entered solid months now.
The global phenomenon is also serving as
a stark reminder of the need for shifting towards digital education and e-learning solutions.
Schools have been among first public
institutions that largely come to closures since the early days of the outbreak that triggered strict partial or complete restrictions and lockdowns.
The facilities in some cases are even serving as quarantine and isolation centers.
Reports have been coming out that the pandemic is resulting in an unprecedented social and psychological challenge on children who are staying indoors having no contact with the outside world many of whom remain out of touch with their peers due to school closures.
According to the United Nations’ Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO), currently 90 percent of students are being kept out of educational institutions by the country-wide closures. According to UNESCO, school closures are also significantly affecting students, it could even undermine the right to education.
“While temporary school closures as a result of health and other crises are not new, unfortunately, the global scale and speed of the current educational disruption are unparalleled and, if prolonged, could threaten the right to education, said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, according to the Organization’s official website.
And, the disruptions are being felt by students, teachers, and families, and experts are warning that the pandemic can inflict long-term impact on education sector unless temporary and long-term measures are placed.
Amidst the downsides of the pandemic, countries are moving into more innovative and e-learning solutions which are helping students and teachers to continue the teaching-learning process. The disruption in the delivery of education is also pushing policymakers to see ways and means of maintaining students’ engagement through e-learning solutions.
UNESCO announced that it is supporting the implementation of large-scale distance learning programs and recommending open educational applications and platforms that schools and teachers can use to reach learners remotely.
However, experts in the area argue that developing countries like Ethiopia are finding it hard to continue education due to poor internet and technological infrastructure.
Schools remained closed immediately after the country reported its first case.
Recently, the Ministry of Education set a direction that parents should pay up to 60 percent of monthly school fees; in exchange for demanding schools to provide their students with online teaching. But experts are skeptical about whether infrastructural facilities or educational system would help achieve e-learning in the country.
The five-month state of emergency which the country declared bans gatherings which also affect schools. And, currently, universities are being used as quarantine centers. And there is little hope that education would continue in a country where digital learning stands very much poor.
“Let alone these days, the education sector has been suffering from infrastructural constraints such as internet and power outages and other tech-related facilities. So, the crisis is adding another layer of problem to the already poor sector,” says Samuel Tefera Alemu (Ph.D.), an Assistant Professor at the Center for African and Oriental Studies and Associate Dean for Research and Technology Transfer, College of Social Sciences, Addis Ababa University.
The socio-economic and psychological impacts of COVID-19 are far from worse. Its ramification is of large-scale that every segment of society is being affected including students, teachers, and the community in general. The structure of schooling and learning including teaching and assessment methodologies was the first to be affected,
Even the tertiary branches of education are shut down completely for not having access to e-learning solutions. “As a teacher, I find it hard to continue in contact with my students after the university came to closure. We barley have access to internet services even to exchange assignments online.”
This is the time to go back to the drawing board to rethink the way education had been delivered and to resort to digital learning. Open sources of digital learning, digital library centers, and the like should be put in place so that teachers can impart lessons online, he points out.
The step to close schools is helpful to contain the spread of the virus as these institutions are a hotspot of transmission. Closing schools is vital to prevent possible spread, while it is even more pivotal that the country is still able to resort to other alternatives means of teachings, says Dr. Mulat Asnake, Director of Continuing and Distance Education Office at Addis Ababa University.
He said: “It is a must that we have the recipes to resume education. All schools do not have the required resources and infrastructure to deliver technology-based teachings.”
Even if institutions have limited resources which are imperative for e-learning, the tendency to use them is very low both by teachers and students. “The fact is that we should exhaustively use every possible option to stay engaged, he adds. Nowadays, from mobile to computer, options for e-learning are plenty. And using existing alternatives and resources is a must-do task to continue education.”
“The fact that the outbreak is unprecedented and its large scale can undermine the teaching-learning process and may have severe impacts on students.”
Staying indoors would inflict significant psychological disorders unless they stay connected with their teachers and fellow students. Keeping on the current move of teaching on a radio, and television transmissions can also be a good option to keep students afresh.
The Ethiopian Herald May 1/2020
BY DESTA GEBREHIWOTS
