Every day brings good news about Covid-19 numbers in Pakistan. The deadly pandemic is on the retreat, if we go by the recent numbers of positive cases in our part of the world. Some pockets of the world are still fighting the surge of the new or old variants of the virus. When the pandemic broke out, the first thing it affected the most was socialization.
One would count economy as the most hit area.
Well, most of the economy stems from socialization. The pandemic closed walls on the workers of factories, ordinary offices, and schools. Hotels started home delivery of food.
Almost every person, who is not a boss, welcomed the work-from-home regime.
The most delighted lot were students.
Now that the Covid-19 relaxation for students has been lifted for good by the education minister, they have started going to school. It is reported that by the end of this academic year, students will be taking exams after studying everything that is in the syllabus and no concessions will be made this time, no matter what the situation of the pandemic is.
After socialization, the other most hit area by the pandemic lockdown is education. It stopped the learning process, which occurs in classroom settings.
Students were promoted to higher grades without assessments and if examinations were held, the examiners showed unprecedented leniency.
1100/1100. Unbelievable!
Although this may not sit right with many, the relaxation was mandatory as many students did not have access to facilities, which would allow them to receive the quality education they did on campus.
With most things returning to normal in the world, education normalcy is most welcomed of them all, especially in Pakistan.
Many children suffered, as being citizens of a developing country, they did not have easy access to laptops and internet connections through which they could attend online classes. Many teachers and schools also did not have the resources to deliver lectures through the online system. The normalcy that is slowly picking up pace is a positive development as children and young adults will be able to get education the right way.
Now, something about the new education calendar.
The upcoming exams may intimidate students as they have not been exposed to the rigorous examinations for the past two years. In order for them to pick up the pace and get comfortable in the old system, make-up classes must be arranged, either at home or in schools after regular school is over. These classes will allow for the covering up of lost time. Since syllabi were reduced in the previous years, these make up classes will help students get back on track at the right time.
Every pandemic leaves lessons for us to learn.
The lesson that the government must learn from the last two years is that technology is undoubtedly becoming crucial for every sector and therefore it must equip universities and schools with an adequate amount of technology. This will allow for the development of a hybrid system in the coming years, to which these institutions can fall back on in case of any such emergency. The transition may take years but the past two years have taught everyone the importance of technology for the upcoming years.
If technology can cope with educational solutions, why not for elections too? Technology, speaks for itself.
