How Will Technology Help in Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 on Schools?

The last few weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak has witnessed a tremendous shift in the education system in India. As the virus spreads around the world, many countries are implementing measures from a ban on mass gatherings to the temporary closing down of schools. According to UNESCO monitoring, many countries have closed down the schools to minimize the transmission of coronavirus, which has impacted 1.5 billion students across the globe.

While schools are temporarily closed for the safety of the children, schooling continues as students are being educated remotely using technology. Online learning tutorials and massive open online courses are becoming the need of the hour. From an educational perspective, students could benefit from technology at home, provided that they are spending their time productively and using tech for good.

Delivering education to every student across the country would require the states to overcome the significant challenges such as providing digital learning resources in teaching, sound capabilities in distance education, or curriculum-linked online resources for teaching and learning, regardless of place and time. The Heritage School, ICSE School in Dehradun, is sharing a few ideas that countries should focus on.

1. Designing programs and policies to include the most vulnerable, or students belonging to the economically weaker sections with equipment and connectivity.

2. Providing internet connectivity to schools that need it the most.

3. Reimbursement in the finances of the digital curriculum and learning materials for students.

4. Improvements in digital communication technologies for schools to deliver education online effectively.

The Heritage School, the top school in Dehradun, sees this time of crisis as an opportunity for all educational institutions to look into the future and build their capacity to adjust and overcome the possible threats.