From 2019 and early 2020, coronavirus pandemic started wrecking havoc in the world. Not respecting the national borders, covid virus destroyed national economies, ravaged lives and shattered families. The general impact of covid-19 was felt by everyone everywhere.
The most vulnerable sections of society, the elderly, the young as well as those with disabilities and comorbidities suffered the most. In addition, those with lack of income and victims of social and economic marginalization too suffered the brunt of the disease.
Impact on Children
Covid-19 has impacted young children severely. The children from disadvantaged communities have suffered the most from the pandemic and lockdowns imposed. Lockdowns have impacted the young children in a lot of ways. The families with low-income backgrounds who lost their livelihood due to the lockdown suffered immensely. The financial crisis struck several of these families.
The financial crisis put forward by the lockdown impacts the children in the family. Families struggle to put meals on the table. This impacts the health of the children which also hinders the ability to learn effectively.
Since education went online due to lockdowns, many families could not afford to buy laptops or smartphones. Digital divide was a major problem in access to education. Many children were also forced to drop out of schools due to inability to pay high fees. Several students during the time of the pandemic ended up moving from private schools with higher facilities to sub-standard government schools.
We are currently experiencing a learning crisis, according to a number of governmental and non-governmental surveys. Over 5 crore elementary school students are estimated to not have attained foundational literacy and numeracy, which means they are unable to read and comprehend basic text or perform simple addition and subtraction using Indian numerals.
What to do?
Since education is a universal right, we must recognize that no child should be left behind. We must come together and help these children get the quality education that they deserve. To know more about Fikrah does and believes in view our website and connect with us in any capacity that you can.