Alisha Andleeb
After spending long hours on my smart phone for online classes with souring eyes, I wanted to take a short nap, but this was unfeasible because of backache, even though I strove to lay down in bed but all my efforts were in vain when I heard the news on television that“All educational institutes will remain closed for two weeks”Woefully! This semester will also continue to be held online mode. Terrible Covid 19 outbreak slowdown the world. It caused dramatic loss of human life around the globe as it triggered bad impacts on all sectors of the world like economy, psychological wellbeing and whole social system. Well a big concern of all the countries including, Pakistan, among the Covid 19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown is education. If I talk about our country Pakistan,pandemic spurs big changes in the education system. But I would say that the condition is acceptable if we compare it to our state Azad Kashmir.We have been suffering worst time since the transmission has shifted from face to face classes to remote learning. In some areas of the state, students have been demanding the cancellation of exams weather in most of the sectors online classes have commenced, regrettably some institutions stopped teaching entirely. Parents are demanding that private institutes should not hike their fee. On the other hand schools say that they don’t have money to pay the staff and teachers.Online learning is a great solution in the short run but it also creates digital divide. My Research regarding online learning and teaching shows that they’re effective as long as students have consistent access to the web and gadgets and if teachers have received targeted training and supports for online instruction. Here I’m going to share my research and experience in relation to eLearning. Shutdown of schools poses major challenges for students as well as teachers. In Azad Kashmir the education system was not well prepared to cope with the situation like this. During lockdown some private schools started online classes. I got to know from the youngest of my family that they are struggling to manage their homework from voice clips that theirteacher sends them on WhatsApp. I’m just wondering that how this innocent and untrained creature will be dealing with it?In the early years of lifeyoung children using digital technologies to learn online is highly debatable. Teachers are also affected in multiple ways because they have not been trained for online schooling.Well, somehow they have managed. But on the other side, what about government schools? It seems that public schools are disappearing. They are still unable to commence online education, due to various reasons. One is parents of students enrolled in public schools cannot afford mobile phones and internet for their two and four children at a time. The second reason is that there is no system of online classes introduced by Govt in public schools. Sibbar Khalil a metric student from the Govt school of Muzaffarabad Azad Kashmir said: “Students in government schools belong to impoverished family and groups and their parents cannot provide smart phones and internet for their children” Shealso said there were no virtual classes arranged by her school, adding that her parents wanted her to learn a skill of sewing during this time of pandemic. Coming towards university and collages situation is not as good as expected. They also shifted to virtual platforms to conductonline classes. Students had to arrange smart phones and internet connection in uncertainty. Despite of having all these facilities we are suffering through hard, because being a resident of remote AJK we have to go through the poor internet connectivity. About 90% area of Azad Kashmir is rural where the lack of basic facilities and web.So how can students living in these areas continue their online learning without good internet connectivity? We also can’t ignore poor students that are unable to afford digital equipment. While talking with university students I got to know that some of them can’t afford online appliances so if semester continue to be held online then they will have to leave university.The future of children is being ruined! Mental and physical health crises due to online learning can’t be neglected. The remote learning had crucial implications on psychological state, leading to psychological problems, including depression, frustration, and stress. Attending lectures on zoom and Microsoft teams is very irritating.Due to poor internet connection students can’t focus on the lecture. “Microsoft teams and zoom meeting sucks” Now what is the role of government during this unprecedented situation? Unfortunately, I have to say that there is absolute silence from this side.The Government of AJK has not taken any steps to improve the online learning. . It’s heartbreaking; even public school where the online system has not yet been introduced, Govt didn’t take any initiative for it. Education must be the prime concern of AJK govt.The government should take significant actions to upgrade the virtual system. As far as I am concerned, this Pandemic is awakeup call for all Govt institutions and also Higher Education Commission (HEC).Optimistically,Covid can be a chance for our education system towards betterment. AJK Govt needs to develop long-term sustainable strategies that hold promise for strengthening children’s education. They have to think deeply about substitutes to the traditional classroom while schools are shut down, moreover Govt should introduce digital education platforms that enables even low cost schools to assist children in continuing there education at home and remedial action when they reopen. As experience has demonstrated, decisions taken through crises will affect the future for decades to come.
