The first and the second waves of Covid-19 have crippled most of the activities and impacted each and every sphere. But now things are becoming normal and all the sectors are gradually opening up, of course with Covid guidelines. Not only to health sector, it was the Education sector which was badly hit by the pandemic and therefore it requires immediate attention of the government and other stakeholders.
Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) has launched a nationwide campaign to reopen campuses with immediate effect in order to meet the challenges in the education sector posed by the pandemic. Student groups are also demanding special package for education sector and institutions to compensate the damage caused by the pandemic as the campuses have been shut down for more than one year. There is a deep crisis in education and efforts should be made to give pace to our education sector.
According to Mohammad Salman, National President SIO, “Educational institutions in India have been closed since the spread of Coronavirus in the country. It has been a long one and a half years since the academic activities have completely crumbled. Students from primary schools to university researchers have faced incredible learning loss in this period.”
On the reopen campuses campaign, SIO President said, “Now that Corona cases are decreasing across the country, with exceptions, and life is returning to some semblance of normalcy in most areas, there is an urgent need to reopen campuses. However, due to the lack of seriousness and absence of any attention from the authorities, campuses largely remain closed and academic activities are yet to come back on track. Through this campaign we demand that the government and institutions should take this issue seriously and must facilitate education possible in campuses by agreeing to the Covid protocols and restrictions.
“There is a serious economic distress in this country. Rather than alleviating the distress of students, many of the educational institutions are still charging fees for facilities like libraries, laboratories and other campus activities. In this situation we demand that unnecessary fees must be waived by the government.”
The students leader added, “Vaccination is the most important precaution against the Coronavirus. The Government should urgently take steps towards completely vaccinating students, teachers and other staff members so that the functioning of campuses can be resumed.”
On educational package, the SIO President said, “We are also concerned about the many reports of serious academic loss that has happened in this period. The dropout rate is also very alarming. We demand that the Government should declare a comprehensive package to address this academic loss and dropouts.”
Fawaz Shaheen, Director, Centre for Educational Research and Training (CERT), while sharing his perspective on the issue with Radiance said, “The last one year and a half has seen tremendous learning loss for students at all levels. The dire situation is schools are slowly coming to light with recent reports by UNICEF and the School Children’s Online Offline Learning Survey (only 8% rural kids attend online classes, 75% have faced literacy loss). However, the prospects of higher education are no less concerning. The situation is so bad that companies have started saying they will not hire 2021 graduates.”
“The true injustice is that this situation was entirely foreseeable, and students and educators alike had repeatedly asked the Government to invest in technology and training from the first days of the pandemic, but our demands fell on deaf ears. Now the extent of learning loss is so high that restarting physical classes has become a must. The Government must vaccinate all campus staff, students and teachers, set up Covid care centres in campuses and reopen them with appropriate protocols. If cinema halls and tourist spots can be reopened then we are sure there is a way to reopen campuses as well, provided there is the right will,” added Director of CERT.
More and more students and students’ bodies are joining the voice of reopening campuses. Very recently, the Students Federation of India (SFI) organised a protest in front of the Pondicherry University, demanding reopening of campuses. Students also protested in front of Jamia Millia Islamia and submitted a memorandum to University administration, demanding opening of the campus as soon as possible.
Student of Jamia Millia Islamia, Ali Haider who is pursuing B.Com (Honours), said, “Yes, campus should be opened with Covid guidelines. We are allowed to pray in mosque, go to malls and markets, cinema halls are open and most of the activities are opened now with guidelines. We have already lost our two precious years. Students are said to be the future of the country, then why they have been sidelined and ignored campuses. They should also be allowed like others. The demand of reopening campuses is a genuine demand.”
Dr. Abhay Kumar, a journalist and former scholar of JNU, while speaking to Radiance, said, “Education has been ignored by all the previous governments. But the Narendra Modi government has launched a massive attack on education by reducing the budget and privatising it. Worse still, the Modi government is also punishing the intellectuals and scholars who have disagreed with Hindutva agenda. During the corona pandemic, education has received a serious blow. The Government has used the occasion to shut the educational institutions and the management of the educational bodies, both at Government and private bodies, have further curtailed the rights of workers and employees. For example, their salaries have been cut and work burden has been increased.”
Dr Kumar added, “The students of the country are demanding the re-opening of the schools and colleges with corona pandemic guidelines. Even in JNU students are sitting on a hunger strike to press the demand for re-opening of the university and restoration of classes. The students are of the opinion that online teaching cannot replace regular classes and teachers and students interaction physically. They have legitimate questions that the schools and colleges cannot remain closed on the pretext of pandemic when malls, markets, religious places, electoral rallies, train and buses and Kumbh gathering have been held.”