India is a rapidly changing country in which inclusive, high-quality education is of utmost importance for its future prosperity and grace. The country is currently in a youth bulge phase. It has the largest youth population in the world. To dive deep into the Education System in India 2021 read this detail information about our educaton system.

Introduction

Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.It possesses the power to bring a positive change and make society a better place to live in. But with the changing times, particularly in this Covid scenario, the education sector like other sectors has suffered a major blow. Let’s discuss how Covid-19 has impacted Indian education and a large number of people associated with it. Also , the Education System in India 2021.

Education system a year ago…

Initially when the lockdown was imposed by the honorable Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, on the evening of 24th March 2020 from 25th March onwards. No one had ever dreamt of total shutdown of offices, schools, colleges, universities etc.

Only services related to essential commodities like fodder, mandis, hospitals, PHCs (Primary Health Care Centres) were open. Civil administration and Police were responsible to ensure that the protocols related to social distancing and lockdown were properly followed.

Softwares on the rescue :

When the cases increased by leaps and bounds and the government kept on increasing the restrictions related to lockdown. Most of the tertiary services sector like banks, offices allowed work from home. acility and the schools also adopted this method of online teaching, so that students don’t suffer a loss in their education.

Different mobile applications and software like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet etc. Came to rescue. It became the new normal of the mode of transmission of lectures and study material. This online mode of education ensured that come hell or come high water or come Covid-19, education can’t be compromised.

Initial problems of students.

Initially teachers who weren’t tech savvy and also some students found it difficult to adapt with this mode. It took teachers some time to understand the different specifications of the software . So that they can deliver their learnings in an efficacious manner. This online mode made it necessary to have a good internet connection along with a laptop. Also Personal Computer or a good mobile phone would be helpful.

How students managed studies?

Parents from the cities and metropolitans managed to get all the resources required by their children to fare well and prosper. But what about the villages and the people living below the poverty line.

It’s said that if you want to visit India and know about its culture,heritage and values, visit rural India. Rural India is where the majority of Indian population resides. Also, a section which is overlooked by the government for development and looked only when the elections sprang up. Villages where only few people own a smartphone , where most of the parents are engaged in farming that just produces meagre output for subsistence, weren’t in a condition to buy a smartphone and have a good internet connection. Same is with the laborers and migrants. Imagine where people like these have to sleep without three meals a day. Smartphones feel like a dream to fulfill.

The government also started Television channels to impart education, but that wasn’t enough. Children involved in agriculture or belonging to poor sections of society got no time for watching these channels. As most of the time they were involved in doing some work so that they could contribute to the family’s income whose backs were broken by the Covid pandemic. Such was the digital divide witnessed during online education.

Other problems

Not only this, the Covid -19 impacted lots of students mentally. Submission of assignments, practical files, project files within deadlines put up a lot of pressure on students to deal with. Schools had stopped, but workload had doubled. The students developed fatigue,eye strain, headache because of long exposure to the screen without breaks. The noises from home and parents calling the children to do some chores. While doing online studies posed problems to students while concentrating on their studies.

Adding to it, the postponing of different exams like UPSC Civil Services, NDA , JEE mains and Advanced, NEET etc. to name a few, posed lots of problems to the students preparing for it. Some were of the view that exams should be postponed and should be conducted later on. However, others demanded that covid will go on for years, so we have to move on and give the exams. Whatever was the view of the students, it was the government that decided the fate of the students. Exams were conducted a bit later when it felt, situation was somewhat under their control.

What will happen to exams ?

A year and a half has gone, the 2nd wave has come up and seen many fatalities. Expectations of 3rd wave are there and what is a major bone of contention is whether the exams would take place or not. Be it entrance level exams or be it final year exams of schools and colleges Nothing has been confirmed.This is currently defining the Education System in India in 2021.

Recent decisions

  • UGC has told the universities not to conduct offline exams and conduct online exams keeping in view the local conditions. Following this DU has decided to conduct UG final year exams. Given date from 7th June onwards in Open book exam format via online mode. While scraping up exams of first and second year and rewarding marks on the basis of internal assessment.
  • Competitive exams like SSC CHSL, SSC CGL, NIMCET have been postponed. Students have been advised by the exam conducting authorities to visit the website for the rescheduling of the exams.
  • UPSC CSE 2021 has been postponed to 10th October while the interviews of UPSC CSE 2020 are yet to begin.
  • The dates for class 12th exams would be announced on 1st June 2021 . As per sources, the examinations will be conducted in two phases. If a student is unable to attend the exam in Phase 1, then he/she would be able to appear for the exam in phase 2. If conditions are conducive, Phase 1 is proposed between July 15 to August 2 and the second phase from August 8 to August 26. The result, as per the board, can be declared within 15 days.

Most of the states were in favour of the second option while some even favoured a mix of two. A few states like Delhi, Maharashtra and Kerala asked for vaccination of students before examination. All eyes are now at the Education Ministry and the final decision which is now expected by June 1.

Conclusion

Education is imperative and necessary as it benefits livelihood. But first there is life, then livelihood follows. The government should do its best so that education imparting should be in the best possible manner along with the support of social workers, NGOs and cooperative giants. Exams are imperative in life as they help us learn a lot, but keeping in mind the impact of pandemic a balanced approach needs to be followed.

~Amit Pandey

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