Challenges in Education Faced in India, During the COVID Times

This period could be called one of the most challenging periods, in the World’s history. The challenge is not limited to a single phase, but to a multiplicity of phases, beginning with livelihood, education, economy, commerce, science, technology, and the list goes on. In this article the main focus will be on the challenges faced in the field of Education, in our country, India, during the COVID times. The pandemic will be remembered in the words of Dickens as “the worst of times” and, in the most unintended ways, also “the best of times”. Before the lockdown, the challenge for the kind of schools that are existing today, was finding the sweet spot between theoretical and experiential learning. After the move to virtual learning, it has become about finding our reason for being. With the ongoing COVID-19-led lockdown, there are multiple challenges in education, for students, teachers, and parents. With the closure of educational institutions during the lockdown, approximately 1.72 billion learners have been affected worldwide, and around 32 crore in India alone, resulting in high socio-economic costs for education stakeholders. The inaccessibility to physical classrooms encouraged ed-tech platforms to announce free live sessions, thereby questioning the role of education institutions. In response, private schools were quick to adopt, mandate, and implement new educational pedagogy — learning through digital means