Blinded & blocked

Recently we are coming across a lot of joking references over social media which relate to the employment of candidates completing or pursuing their education during the pandemic era. It is certainly not to be considered an official endorsement based on strict statistics. However, if we believe in the old saying that sometimes serious truths are spoken in jest, then we cannot ignore the points of apprehension that plausibly arise in the issue of education and consequent employment for all who have felt the impact of Covid on the teaching-learning process. The digital model of education became the alternative to conventional classroom teaching. It opened up a new horizon of learning but could never be an absolute substitute for classroom teaching. The suspension of classes led to a huge number of drop-outs because thousands did not have the access to digital education. Then there was also a considerable number who could not properly take lessons in the digital mode. Specially abled children have been the worst sufferers. In many families, girl-child students faced the crisis of gender bias. The result is a gross shortcoming in achieving learning outcomes. Modern education is determined by learning outcomes, for, in turn, it determines the vocational abilities of a student. We cannot ignore one observation of Francis Bacon in his famous essay, 'Of Studies'', where he opines that one prime objective of studies is to attain vocation. Therefore any deterrence in the process of learning would have its toll on vocational excellence.

Confinement of students at home and over-dependence on electronic gadgets has robbed many of them of a sublime habit and that is reading books. Unfortunately over the last few years, a major group of students have been showing their declining interest in reading original textbooks; the pandemic aggravated it. Students swung their priority from books to digital devices. The gravity of the situation may not be perceived but a closer examination reveals areas of concern. Without the proper study of textbooks, it is fundamentally not possible to develop a conception of any topic. Reading from digital sources often limits the scope for detailed study because the majority would scroll over the computer or smartphones, searching for references, essential only for examination purposes. Selective learning can momentarily help in a particular examination module but can have a debilitating impact in the long run. As the pandemic era has seen disarray in the education pattern, it is sure that students would face the consequences.

Owing to the critical situation over the last two years the regulating bodies of the education system have taken measures which suit the convenience of the students. The examination system has been relaxed to facilitate all standards of students. Since the teaching process could not be delivered properly it was pertinent that some decisions be taken by the authorities which ensure an advantage to the students. Accordingly, we have seen that even terminal or board examinations could not be conducted and the students got promoted based on their performance in their previous class. In some cases, the promotion criterion has been fixed based on the proportional calculation of marks taken from the previous year and internal projects. Now, this facilitated the students and there has been a record of a hundred per cent success rate in secondary and higher secondary standards. In the majority, the percentage of marks of the students has been much higher than what they would have achieved otherwise. The students are naturally happy and so are their guardians, perhaps not even realizing that the results in many instances do not reflect the merit of the candidates. This is alarming for their future professional endeavours. Another darker side is the tendency of the students to get misled by the results and pursue a further course which may not be suitable for their intellectual capacity.

Things are of equal worry in the domain of higher education. Here students have been appearing in the examinations over the on-line mode, sitting in the comfort of their homes. Now it can easily be surmised that these exams got turned into a kind of open-book exams for there was none to invigilate the students and the students enjoyed the liberty of referring to various sources of information. Reports have come that the students kept on uploading their answer scripts repeatedly. All of these have had a detrimental effect on the learning process. The curriculum could not be dealt with properly; the syllabus has been revised and the chapters could not be taught properly. Subjects having practical classes suffered greater. Without an adequate number of practical classes, students would never achieve the required learning. Medical, engineering and students of science would be the biggest losers. Surely it would affect their future education and profession. Professional expertise may come under shortfall and the greater community depending on such expertise would be the victim. The irony is that no one could be blamed and yet a kind of lacuna would prevail.

For any kind of successful vocational attainment learning beyond the corridors of academic structure is important. For that matter, students need to read a lot of reference books. Unfortunately, the pursuit of suggestive learning highly encouraged by the pandemic situation rings a note of caution. Coming under the sickle of the pandemic, there is a danger of the emergence of a group of unaccomplished professionals. The situation has not recovered as yet. Classes have resumed but prolonged suspension of classes has created a kind of diffidence among the students. Many have developed a lack of interest in attending classes; they prefer the online mode. For employment in any sector, be it public or private, knowledge based on skill and application is paramount. If there is a constriction in learning then innovation is sure to suffer; no wonder creativity would take a back seat. The gravity of the situation needs to be weighed and adequate remedial measures to be implemented. The pandemic situation has already diminished the scope for employment; some vocations are narrowing down. Employers are looking for a reduced but effective workforce thereby making jobs tougher for the aspirants. It is time that everyone responds to the alarm so that our future generation is not lost in the abyss of vocational insecurity.

The writer is an educator from Kolkata. Views expressed are personal