Masum Billah :
It is the imperative of the time to offer financial support or loan without interest to the students of vulnerable families. 23 lac students from eleven education boards are going to sit for SSC examination this year. What is going to happen to them? According to academic calendar SSC was supposed to start from 1 February 2021 and HSC from 1 April 2021 but things did not happen accordingly. On 30 March educational institutions were supposed to be opened and after 60 days class, two weeks for preparation for SSC exam were planned but everything has been thrown into uncertainty due to the advent of second wave of corona. Extending the closure of educational institutions till 11 September means 544 days of no learning from March 17, 2020. It demotivates students and keeps many of them of education. While schools remain open they attend classes, keep in touch with teachers and go to private tutors that means, they remain in the wave of reading and writing. This year 23 lac students from eleven education boards are going to sit for SSC examination. NCTB has produced and sent the short syllabus for them as a preventive measure. How much does it talk about redressing the loss?
Online classes to be made more vibrant in case of prolonging and another wave of the Covid situation and educational institutions can be divided into several catchment areas giving responsibilities to a particular teacher, conscious guardian and students studying in higher educational institutions. The local education officers and the head teachers/principals can form a committee of such type. The ongoing online classes seem to be almost an unknown phenomenon to the students of remote villages and slum areas. If we could manage online classes properly by giving digital devices to the students and monitoring the classes that we miserably failed to do. So, suggestions have come up from different corners that internet to be used free of cost though it has the probability to be used by the students for other purposes and even their getting addicted to it, still it should be taken into consideration more seriously as it is the only alternative to face to face teaching till today.
A huge number of children had to pass their days in mental pressure and tension because of the disruption in their usual studies, maintaining social distance and worsening the poverty of the families. The world apprehends that around ten million children will not come back to school and Bangladesh occupies a significant position in this list. In this perspective, it is the imperative of the time to keep the students in touch with studies by any means. That might be true that they need not study only their textbooks. They can go through any other books which will enlighten them and develop their skills and a portion of them already have gained some skills by watching classes on various subjects on Youtube, FB, Messenger. They are keeping themselves exposed to the world and the latest occurrences of the world which can be considered as the fundamental and surviving skills. This sort of gaining skills takes place informally that can be made formally annihilating the discrepancies lying in this sector.
Short, medium and long term policy should be adopted to minimize the loss education has already incurred and special allocation is necessary to develop a plan that can be extended even up to three years. To address all of these shortcomings and loopholes already discerned in the field of education, academic year can be pushed forward from January-December or July-June or even August to July and the way of disseminating education should be a blended one- physically and virtually. Students and teachers need tools and training to use modern devices to get involved in virtual teaching-learning process. Along with sanctioning the allocation for it, proper utilization must be ensured through smart monitoring, transparency and accountability. Both the government, non-government and business people must come up with their financial and moral support to redress the loss of education. Finally, students have started coming back to their known and loving institutions chirping the campus and we hope things will gradually move towards better days but the learning we have gained through this nightmare experience must teach us a valuable lesson.
Masum Billah works as an education expert in BRAC Education and President: English Teachers’ Association of Bangladesh (ETAB).
(Concluded).
