Voice of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Impact of educational institutes’ closure

By: Hudaibia Iftikhar

The large parts of the world are heading towards the third wave of the Covid19 pandemic generated the largest disturbance in the education history of Pakistan. Research by World Bank shows that around 1.6 billion students have been affected in more than 190 countries due to the continuous closure of schools and /universities

Pakistan has already faced many challenges due to a poor system of education.

The situation is quite worse in KP, according to the UNESCO report more than half of the females are out of schools or having no access to education. The research further shows that when the schools shut down early marriages increases, sexual manipulation of girls and young women upsurges, teenage pregnancies become more common, and child labor breeds.

The pandemic situation such as lockdown and closure of educational centers brings many negative impacts on the study routine of the students of higher education and disturbs their mental health. The prolonged closure of educational institutes might add to lack of interest in studies.

Laila Ashfaq, an M.Phil student at Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, expresses concern about the closure of the university saying that she has almost lost her interest in studies.

“I was more focused on my research as I started M.Phil but with the continues closure of university and research laboratories I am unable to conduct research properly which is a big loss to my future” she added

Though the break in proceedings of schools, colleges, and universities are potentially very costly measures to avoid the spread of pandemic, also has multiple negative long-term consequences on students’ future

One of the main hindrances that the students of higher education are struggling to cope with is online study where the students have no trainers to answer their questions in the room. Students are highly affected by the lack of teachers support especially the low achieving students.

In online learning, the students indicate the major amount in self-regulated learning where they must understand the academics on their own without the support of their teachers.

An FSC student at local college in Nowshera, Alishba Shalalay says that she is facing problems in clearing her concepts in academic studies.

Teachers are probably the most important factor for students in their educational success; they encourage the sharp and intelligent students on one side then they also play the role of backbone to those students who are average in class.

Noorul Huda, from Peshawar, and a lecturer at Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan sharing her experience about online classes tells Voice of KP that in online classes students know how to behave, but at homes, they try to make noise and create problems and do not take the classes seriously.

Students are missing the teamwork and competition, which they have during physical classes. The bond they can develop with teachers and school friends is not possible through online classes.

“Educational centers play big role in social activities and interaction. When schools are closed many children and youth miss out the social interaction that is essential for learning and development”, says Sana Bilal, a mother of three from Nowshera.

She also said that children are bored and irrigated during online classes.

These nationwide closures of schools and universities are negatively affecting hundreds of students. To mitigate its negative impacts the government should prioritise online solutions to minimize learning losses. According to the research done by UNESCO, UNICEF, and World Bank almost 47% of school students are having no access to the internet at home. Also, the schools should regularly follow the SoPs once opened.

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