Transforming Education To Survive The Pandemic

The COVID-19 crisis and the imposition of lockdown to contain the spread of the pandemic have altogether brought the whole world to a standstill. While the people have been facing various challenges like uncertainty, insecurity and the fear of the unknown, the Children have been the worst sufferers during the COVID-19 induced lockdown.  

Their schools are closed and they are confined to their homes for no fault of their own. Amid this unprecedented scenario, the schools had to rethink over the strategies to keep the educational ball rolling and the entire management and the teachers have participated and contributed their bit to keep the children energetic and enthusiastic. 

Ramagya School, which remains engaged in looking for different avenues and activities that promote mental health and physical wellbeing, quickly envisioned the forthcoming impact of lockdown on its young learners and kick-started online classes right from the first day of ‘Lockdown 1’  i.e. from 24th March 2020. Our objective was simply to keep the students occupied, hopeful and thrilled for their future.  

However, the journey of online classes has not been so easy, as there were many glitches since Day 1. First of all, we had to choose a safe platform to conduct our live classes and going forward we had to also deal with the internet problems faced by our students who were located in their hometowns. We had to also train the teachers on how to use online teaching methods efficiently. But throughout all the processes, we were determined to solve all the issues efficiently.  

Amid all these, whenever we faced challenges, we framed them in words with simultaneously expressing our hopes and dreams alongside. Both these words became our source of inspiration in the discovery of new methods of teaching and learning during the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic. The education industry did not look for excuses and reasons to shut down. In a matter of weeks, the fast-spreading COVID-19 pandemic changed how students get education all around the globe. Meanwhile, the pandemic also offered us an opportunity to explore new ways to impart education in times of adversity.  

Although these changes were not easy to adapt, they have undoubtedly paved the way to achieve new milestones in the education sector. Considering the importance and urgency of conducting online classes, the teachers left no stone unturned while teaching their students online. The diligence and dedication with which each teacher worked to make online classes successful is commendable and incomparable.  

We believe that resilience is an important part of growth and change and that there are several ways to cultivate and inspire resilience in people. The current challenging time has given the people a chance to look at their problems from a different perspective. Now the people have understood that despite the severity of problems they face, it is their willingness to work in the right direction is the only way to find solutions. Here I give full credit for the success of the online classes to the teachers who braved each difficulty with grace under the guidance of their able Principal.  

The solidarity and professionalism of teachers have touched a new high and it would not be wrong to say that our teachers of the present times are the unsung ‘heroes’ who have helped the education industry survive during the pandemic.

Utkarsh Gupta

Guest Author The author is Managing Director, Ramagya Group