- While the entire humanity focused on the hardships, challenges, losses, and uncertain future staring at them in the face of the pandemic raging across unhindered, one of the most significant groups also had to endure challenges of different variety while dealing with the extraordinary situation arising out of the situation. Yes, I am referring to the younger lot, especially school-going children, adolescents, and young adults, who too were subjected to worrisome confinement knowing very little about the unfolding events in their lives. At stake was the future and nurtured dream taking shape amid uncertainty.
pc: Dr. Adam Richards
- As schools and colleges closed down owing to the necessity of the situation staring in the face of mounting fears about the unknown virus, an uncertain future was the only known factor that was presented to the younger lot. In the absence of regular school classes and conventional pedagogy, the focus got shifted to the never-seen-before adventure of online teachings. The revolutionary digital technological advancements came to the fore ensuring continuity of teachings to keep the younger lot engaged without depriving them of quality learning.
- It is worthwhile to reminisce the efforts undertaken by the teaching community overcoming technical hesitancy to embrace an entirely new medium in facilitating teaching reaches intended homes. There are several instances when teachers were overwhelmed by the challenges of online teaching and many succumbed to nervous breakdowns curtailing promising careers prematurely. Once the novelty factor of online teachings made way to fatigue of looking at the screen for longer hours–the bane of software and information technology professionals for a long time now – children and younger students too lost interest.
pc: Robert H. Brook
- Students on the cusp of entering into professional courses had a harrowing time because of the ambiguity surrounding their prospects. As the Governments across the universe gradually opened up the economy allowing for activities to resume, the higher grades in school and college education were also allowed to resume offline teaching much to the relief of the student community. Now that the fervent prayers for the vaccine have materialized in record times as vaccination drive picks-up pace covering the identified categories of people, the vagueness about when children will be eligible to receive inoculation should be considered in right earnest.
- None of the countries, including the most advanced and developed, are yet to come out with concrete plans extending the vaccination drive to the younger category to develop much-needed immunity to keep the virus at bay. Necessary clinical trials are already underway for the younger population and there is no reason why the drive should be delayed any longer. Therefore, it is incumbent on the part of the governments to chalk out a comprehensive roadmap to undertake a vaccination drive for the younger generation as soon as possible. This allows the return to normalcy vis-à-vis conventional teachings in schools and colleges.
