Education and covid-19 – The lingering effect of the unfinished learning!

Education is one of the pillars of life. As the years of school pass, life draws toward a close. Although the 2020 academic year ended on a high note with graduation, rising vaccination rates, and access to in-person learning, it is also challenging for students and educators to keep pace with the changing scenario. Around 98% of students have undergone problems owing to the changes in their learning patterns. It is time to revamp the impact of the pandemic on the education system and student learning in particular.

Analysis of international organizations revealed the impact of coronavirus on every grade of student learning from KG or 12. It left students behind in different subjects like mathematics and science groups. As a result, it widens the pre-existing opportunity and the achievement gap. It hit disadvantaged students the hardest. It broadened the gap between the better students and the average ones. A vast majority of math and commerce students ended the year with unfinished learning that had a lingering effect on their life.

On the other hand, high schoolers dropped out of school, while seniors from low-income households were less likely to go for post-secondary education. Amid this crisis, academics drastically changed when they shifted to the digital platform. Around 35% of guardians became highly concerned about children's mental health. However, 50% of people in Vermont supported the changes, as elucidated by MyBioSource reports. 

• The fallout rate

The drop out in the school hit by the pandemic threatened children and their mental health. It constrained their opportunities to develop into adulthood. The ripple effect undermined the chance of attending college and university and ultimately finding a job that enabled them to support their family. International organizations analyzed and suggested that steps must be underway to address the unfinished learning to change. It is a matter of a lifetime and the future of the children. The pandemic impacted every aspect of human life and education in particular. Any hampering of this will have an impact on their end. Keeping aside the economic factor, education was a worse hit. Any changes in the education sector have a trickle-down effect on the workforce. It is, therefore, necessary for the government to develop policies to address this problem of dropouts.

• Provisions for fund allocation

Federal funds are necessary to help states in all countries respond to the pressing problem of the pandemic. The root cause of the problem lies in the unanticipated approach of the governments. Districts and states must develop critical thinking and funding policies to ensure sustainable progress. To improve student outcomes, proactive steps are necessary. It will provide the rigorous implementation of initiatives and procedures needed to bring more innovation and creativity to this sector. 

By thoroughly assessing the effectiveness of these solutions, the problem of unfinished learning can be resolved to an extent. A 17% positive shift is noticed in North Carolina in favor of covid protocol, as illustrated by MyBioSource. The immediate need is to reopen the schools and recover the unfinished learning by reimagining education in the long term. Across distinct parts of the globe, critical thinking and a holistic approach have become the need of the hour. By listening to parents and students and designing a curriculum program that meets the non-academic and academic requirements a lot can be done to solve this issue.

• What lessons have human beings learned from unfinished learning?

As the schools reopen and people return to their classrooms, a lot has changed. By the end of last year, around 98% of students returned to their classrooms and are pursuing their education personally. The traditional form of learning has again come back on track; people are re-analyzing their pandemic days. Indistinct parts of the globe, people are developing a balanced approach toward education. Schoolteachers are trying to bring digital and non-digital means of teaching learning to provide an effective learning atmosphere. Students who have faced various changes need to be assigned teachers who are well versed with both these means of teaching. They can easily get adjusted to the digital forum. The one lesson students have learned from the past is that nothing is permanent. Students who have moved on to the next grade become prepared to build their knowledge, which is necessary for success. 

A 9% shift in attitude is seen in North Dakota in favor of the covid policy, measures as per MyBioSource reports. At the same time, students repeating this year are also trying to understand what went wrong. The academic knowledge is now diverse. It relates to what they learn in class and how they relate to the outer environment. Unfinished learning is inequitable and real. To assess the student's knowledge through the pandemic, schools must undertake formative and analytical assessments from the elementary stage to the higher secondary education. By comparing students' performance, you may understand their future and learning patterns.