Learners need endless feedback more than they need endless teaching.
-Agatha Christie
By now, no individual all around the globe is stranger to the wide reaching riotous consequences COVID-19 has had not only on those who got infected by it but also on the other natives of the society.
The ‘out of the ordinary’ virus forced the nations to thrust several extreme course of actions for controlling its proliferation which encompassed nationwide lockdowns, cessation from functioning of various industries, travel curtailments, and social distancing protocols. With stay-at-home to work-at-home instructions being the ‘new normal’ and complete closedown, sectors such as automobiles, retails oil and gas, aviation, agriculture had to face the wrath of it.
And similarly, the virus has equally been unkind to the education system of India. Education has been one of the substantial causalities of the occurring COVID-19 epidemic. It impelled several educational institutions to call off the classes, adjourn the examinations and internships. This also caused delay in admission processes and hence, students had to put up with the loss of their precious time of the academic year. The setback in exams and the time lost can there upon affect the employment occasions for the students.
At a first, what had commenced as an interim explication seems to have turned into long-term procedure. The initial action that was taken up by the respective state administrations was to temporarily shut down all schools, colleges, and universities to counter the advancement of the virus and to keep away from any kind of gatherings.
As the clock moved ahead, so was the uncertainty of reopening of educational institutions. Different educational institutions have kept up with the pace and resume the studies through online mode with the help of video conferencing platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, Whatsapp, etc.
The faculty as well as the students both took their time to get adapted to this new method of education.
The government offered rescheduling the exams, and shortening the syllabus. Further, the institutions had to come up with new methodologies of administering exams, internal assignments, formulating criteria, taking up extracurricular activities, and other interesting ways to make the sessions much more interactive, keeping in view the convenience of both students and the teachers. The online methodology of exams should not only examine academic evolution, as it is common in the present day’s examination pattern, but should also test the holistic development of the students.
It is the liability of every academician and the power to take out methods of administering online assessments with well-grounded calibers thorough the ongoing pandemic time. For concluding examinations victoriously during this period, productive master plans, especially within the online pattern must be enforced into, instead of calling for the cancellations of examinations.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court has itself stated in 2020 that the students in higher education can’t be promoted unaccompanied by writing the final year or terminal semester exams. Whereas, a directive to the University Grants Commission (UGC) had said that the states could not elevate students on the basis of any kind of internal assessments or past performance. The apex court has also made it clear that the Sates could, under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, hold on final year/semester examinations, but they didn’t have the authority to order the universities to elevate the students on the basis of the previous performance, because the students assessment was the prerogative of the UGC. Whereas the UGC’s rules too, clearly stated that no degree could be granted without proper examinations.
If we think about alternatives, then one of them may be ‘open book examinations’- it permits students to refer to books or any other material when answering to the questions. Students are provided with questions ahead of sitting for the examination, or can even complete the examination at home. This will surely help counter rote learning, which actually pervades the current examination system, and sensitizing the students to real learning, analytical as well as application skills too. Open Book Examination is a very well taken up notion by various countries across the globe.
The Supreme Court had directed the States that had cancelled Class XII examinations of their respective boards to spell out their assessment plants. It also went through the evaluation criteria as proposed by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) reflecting on the importance of rigorous assessment steps for acquiring educational standards and its concern over the retrospective consequences of without assessment results for the students later for the society as a whole.
For students, authorization as well as procurement of knowledge begins when they are appropriately assessed in a pertinent scrutiny system by a method that imparts expeditious outcomes and triumph. Prevailing epidemics are investigated to highlight or formulate new aggravation, comprising of depression, panic, anxiety, and concern for oneself or loved ones. Moreover, quarantine and isolation restrictions that caused physical immobility as well as restrained social activity caused abrupt and drastic alterations in the lifestyle of people.
A very illuminating survey done by 'Active Minds' on the impression of COVID-19 on student’s mental health has given troublesome outcomes showing the deteriorating state of mental well being. A cease in the classroom learning regimes, cancellation and delay of examinations, as well as opting for online teaching looks to have paved a new path to hold on to normalcy for shishyas and guru’s.
Yet, the toing and froing situation continues to float over the students, which surely have taken a toll on their mental health. With continuous support in the exercise of mental health initiatives, these unprecedented continuing circumstances are expected to get better. After all well being is always the most important thing to take care of, particularly at times like this. Testing the knowledge acquired and the presentation of the same is what the essence of true education is.
As Jiddu Krishnamurti said, “It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education.”
Criticism should at all costs be accepted positively as well as constructively to mould and give frame to an innovative educational model dealing with all unprecedented times as now. Such times, when it is critical situation all around it is the foremost and pivotal duty and responsibility of all the policy makers in power and educationalists to tackle the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic by all means and hence, upgrading the Indian Educational System.
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