No

Holistic education

Children at the elementary level often find the school environment intimidating due to unfamiliarity with the place and also because of some teachers. If they try to tell their parents about their anxieties, they may be dismissed as making excuses to evade school. Now they can attend classes in the comforting presence of the parents, which helps keep a check on teachers’ conduct too, eliminating the possibility of mental or physical abuse. Some teachers used to get away with little concern for students’ understanding of a subject. Now parents also get to see their wards’ participation in class. Online classes save the children from the burden of heavy bags too and long hours of travel. Thus, online classes facilitate a system that does not come at the cost of a child’s well-being while providing for a holistic education.

Aastha Agarwal,

Second year, MA, St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta

Uncertain times

Online education will actually benefit the students because we don’t know how long the pandemic will last. It is true that the children faced problems during the transition but now they have become accustomed to it.

Anuron Mullik,

Fourth year, Narula Institute of Technology, Calcutta

New learning

The pandemic has taught us much about technology. We are all studying through our mobile phones. Primary school students too have learnt this new subject, which has actually furthered their education.

Nishi Mittal,

Class VIII, Our Lady Queen of the Missions, Calcutta

Better than nothing

It is true that something is better than nothing and that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. Online education ensures students do not sit idle when schools are closed. Else, it may have induced panic in parents. Difficulties may have arisen initially but children’s minds being inquisitive and impressionable, they have adapted swiftly.

Madhav Thirani,

Class XII, The Newtown School, Calcutta

Yes

Imbalanced system

Covid-19 has exposed the structural imbalances in our educational system and when it comes to primary students, the imbalances are immense. They face difficulty in having their doubts clarified through the virtual medium, which results in a lack of concentration. Also, some subjects are not really suitable for online instruction.

Subhro Ray Chowdhury,

First year, National Institution for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities, Chennai

Passive and soulless

People may argue that online education has provided a futuristic approach to prepare primary students as a tech-educated generation but it is simply too pricey, soulless and passive. No doubt they are getting exposure to a lot of information, but the proper way to channelise that information is missing in this mode.

Pritha Bhattacharya,

Second year, Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta

Poor connectivity

Online education is not doing any good in the sphere of primary education. Pupils’ concentration is split between learning the subjects and “audio on”, “audio off”, “mute” and so on. A child definitely can’t learn well with unclear instructions from the teacher ow-ing to poor connectivity.

Srijanee Chakraborty,

Third year, Netaji Nagar Day College, Calcutta