Pandemic continues to affect teachers, students

The Covid-19 pandemic has thrown lives out of gear. Among those affected, there is a large number of students and teachers. Many students have lost track of their syllabus, thus experiencing difficulty in the learning process.

B Pratibha Uttappa, a lecturer at Vijayalakshmi P U College in Balele, said that online classes were conducted as per the directions issued by the department of pre-university education. The offline classes have not yet commenced.

The online classes have been benefiting only 50% of the students as many of them have been residing in hilly regions where the mobilephone network is poor. Also, several regions in the district are hit by a power failure during the rainy season, said Pratibha.

B D Ramya, a science teacher at the Government High School in Koodumangaluru, said that the Covid-19 pandemic has turned out to be a huge trouble for secondary education. The entire picture of school education has changed. This has also resulted in widening the gap between the student-teacher relationship.

There is no joy in the learning process. However, teachers are doing all possible efforts to make the classes interactive for the students, she added.

Due to continuous online classes, students have remained backward in learning. Excessive screen time has been taking a toll on the psychological and physical health of students, Ramya said and wished that the days of difficulty are over and the classrooms resume in offline mode, strengthening the teacher-student relationship again.

M B Umesh, an English teacher at Netaji Aided High School in Ballamavati, said that due to the pandemic, students from the rural areas have been hit hard when it comes to their education.

Most of the students from the rural regions have remained far from educational activities. Students from towns have several options to access online classes. But, those from villages have only mobile phones, that too, with difficulty, as their parents are not financially well to afford smartphones, he adds.

"Ballamavati where I work is such a rural area. However, despite the odds, the students have achieved well in the class 10 exams. Student S Manjula, who hails from the rural area, scored 603 out of 625 which is a great achievement. She has brought laurels to her parents, her teachers and the school," he said.

Umesh said that the profession of teaching has brought him satisfaction.

Students achievements make teachers proud, he added.