What Will Schools Look Like After Covid?

Mr.Zig Ziglar once said, "There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs.”

Education is the most essential weapon in our lives. Through education, one is enlightened about the happenings that are going around the world. Education acts as a silver lining to the less fortunate, as they can enhance their standard of living. It instills creativity, self-confidence, moral values and enables holistic development in one's personality, and consequently engenders huge reforms in society.

SMT Ravinder Pal Kaur Birdie emphasizes this point brilliantly - “School and Education are the main backbone of the country.” 

To discuss more on the topic, Ezyschooling conducted a panel discussion on “School Management in the Post-Covid Era” The session was attended by the following expert panelists:

• SMT Ravinder Pal Kaur Birdie of Shree Mahaprabhu Public School
• Mr. Terence John of Julien Day School, Kalyani
• Ms. Nidhi Kapoor of Euro International School, Gurugram
• Ms. Aakanksha Jain of Sapphire International School
• Mr. Rajesh Vasudevan of Manchester International School
• Dr. Priti Shrimal of Billabong High International School, Vadodara

Check out: Financial Strain of Covid on the Education Sector

Covid has turned the world upside down. It has been witnessed that there is a huge dent in the economy as well as in the education sector.  

How Can School Management Improve Online Teaching?

·       Making Learning Fun and Experiential

 As students are studying online, it is the responsibility of the school to make learning easy for the children. They can include various tools to teach, such as demonstrating through PowerPoint presentations, videos, making PDFs, conducting virtual lab sessions, etc.  This way students can grasp easily whatever they are being taught. 

·       Interacting With Students

After classes are over, the school must ensure that they are having an interactive session with the students. Just teaching them would not work out. The students should be provided with a platform to communicate with their friends so that socializing is not diminished. The teachers should impart morals, values, beliefs, etc to enhance their personas.

·       Connecting With Parents

The teachers should have a one-to-one session with the parents by asking them if any changes are required in the way of teaching. Teachers should also advise parents to keep an eye on their children while they are taking classes or giving their exams. Parents should set a proper screening time for their children. 

Ms. Akansha Jain supports this by saying, “We should prioritize what should be seen and what should not be seen. In case they are having screen time, it should be a healthy one.” 

·       Evaluating Student Progress

The school should evaluate the progress of the students by conducting quizzes, vivas, class tests, etc—so that the teacher gets to know how much the student has absorbed and according to that, they can make the necessary changes if there are any.

·       Organizing Events

The school should organize various events for the students, like debate, painting, essay writing, dance competitions, to encourage some physical activity. These activities would enable the students to be creative, develop the skills of brainstorming, and would enrich their skills in various areas of their interest. It would be a change for the students from the monotony of everyday life.

Steps For Reopening Of Schools

·       Socializing

 It is the main concern for the primary class students, as they have been at home for over a year. The teachers should have more interactive sessions with the children and encourage them to participate.

·       Financial Strain

It has been witnessed that many schools have suffered huge losses. But still, the schools are trying to provide education to each and every child to the best of their limits. The schools are also collaborating with financial partners to generate fees so that they can invest in the digital infrastructure and can also give salaries to the teachers. As Mr. Vanshay Goenka mentioned, "Education is the most crucial element for our country, for it to progress.”

To address the financial strain brought by the pandemic, EnableCap is providing monthly school fee payment solutions as zero cost EMIs with a flexible tenure. They have an easy and digital process,  with a sanction time of just 24 hours and provide up to 5 lacs of unsecured loans. 

“All the educators, all the schools, all over the country, have made sure that learning has not stopped.”-Mr. Rajesh Vasudevan 

·       Hygiene

It is a great challenge for the schools. For this, they have drafted a proper plan and strategy to check the temperature of the students, maintain sanitization, and regularly check the temperatures of all the people inside the premises. They have also prepared a housekeeping team to ensure that the school is spic and span and no child gets infected.

As Ms. Nidhi Kapoor rightly mentioned, "Schools are always your friend, so encourage them instead of blaming them."

·       Mental Health

Communication is the best way to resolve the child's problem. If they are facing mental health issues, we shouldn't ignore it. One could set up various activities so that the child is more engaged which would make their minds more productive. It would also help the student to come out of the trauma of the events of this pandemic.

We agree with Dr. Priti Shrimal when she said, "There should be counselors on board and we need to have breakout rooms so that children feel free to express their trauma."

·       Conducting Examinations

The school should ensure that the child doesn't have the fear of examinations. Accordingly, they should conduct examinations for the students so that they have practice and can give their exams without feeling any pressure or stress.

Let's hope for the best and may schools reopen at the earliest so that students can enjoy their school time with full zeal. Till then, stay safe and stay healthy and also, as mentioned by Mr. Terence John "Explore the new opportunities that come and use them constructively.”