The entire world has dealt with the consequences of the virus COVID-19. Every industry, including the education system, has been heavily impacted by the situation and continues to adjust in accordance with new rules, laws, legislations, and more. Social distancing changed the world entirely. People started preparing themselves to get used to a world sans personal interaction. It seemed tough, but those of us with the privilege to work from home got used to it.

Students were one of those who were affected the most. Learning transformed from in-classroom lessons to Zoom meetings almost overnight. Young children had little to no time to prepare for this and get used to it. Apart from these changes, the education system has undergone some major transformations over the past two years. Here are some of the after-effects of COVID-19 on the education system:

Online learning

The abrupt shift from the classroom to online learning led to the creation of an imperfect but constantly evolving online education system. Video-chat and communication apps, content management systems, instructional lessons, and other tools that allow online learning to happen smoothly have become critical to education. 

Technology has allowed educators to reach out to students and assist them with learning to the best of their abilities. Specialized materials like video lessons, audiobooks, online tests, websites offering professional essay help online, and others have streamlined this process and made life easier for both students and teachers. All of this made a shift to online learning easier.

The disparity in access to resources

Despite it being a great idea, in theory, online learning caused a lot of disparities among students in the same classroom. Before COVID-19, a student could access the same quality of education as his peers, irrespective of his family’s financial or social standing. Because of the shift to digital platforms, accessibility to technology – majorly the internet and smart devices – has made the lives of students coming from lower-income families increasingly difficult.

Lack of a proper internet connection or a mobile device has thrown a wrench in the education a student gets. Academic resources are also sometimes not available for free, and students would have to invest more money to get the education they need. However, there are some charities and non-profit organizations working hard to make sure that students get the education they deserve despite their economic backgrounds. 

Decrease in academic integrity

Exam-cheating, copying, and file-sharing were habits noticed among students even before the pandemic, but they sharply increased since. Remote learning provides students with the opportunity to cheat on tests and exams with little or no remorse since they know that they aren’t being watched and can succeed easily. Long-term goals such as learning have been put on the back burner as students are solely interested in passing their exams whether they learn anything or not. The lack of personal student-teacher interaction has also led to a decline in the quality of assignments submitted by students in class. There has also been an overall increase in apathy when it comes to education since students have a lot more to worry about than school. Because of that, many students opt to use the best academic writing websites for their papers instead of writing them from scratch. The availability of such resources is a plus, but students influenced by the pandemic tend to overly rely on eternal help in their studies.

Rise in technological requirements

Since March 2020, there has been a sudden rise in the dependency we have on technology. All of a sudden, everyone has moved to Zoom or Meet and if you want to be a part of this world, you have to too. 

We have also become more reliant on the internet as well as smart devices like the following: 

• TVs;
• Laptops;
• Mobile phones;
• Tablets; 
• Home smart devices; and more. 

They make us feel less lonely and more occupied and productive. We rely on apps and social media now more than ever. Young children can no longer go out to play with other kids their age. They have to rely on online chat rooms and games to make friends, which has affected the way they communicate and grasp things.

Women in academics and the workforce

A lot of women in traditional families stopped working to take care of their children. Similarly, in a lot of situations, female children and young adults have had to put a pause on their education to take up more “homely” duties that they are tied to due to the existing gender imbalances in society. 

There has also been a steep decline in the population of women in the workforce all across the world, as women have quit their jobs to manage their families now that children don’t go to school anymore. We have also seen a rise in the gender pay gap, setting back women’s advancement for decades.

Food and nutrition insecurity

Children across different countries have relied on school lunches and meals to get the nutrition that they need. This is especially true for children coming from marginalized communities in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. 

School lunch programs ensured that students get fed on time, but now that school is closed, families are unable to feed their children. In some nations, schools have creatively continued to feed their students by sending out surveys and gathering data to find out if anyone needs food.

Student learning outcome

Anytime schools are closed, there is a massive impact on the learning outcomes. This means that students score less when schools are closed than they do when schools are open. This leads to a decline in the standards of learning and the percentage of literacy among students. 

Students coming from lower-income families as well as students with learning disabilities are impacted heavily by school closures. This also leads to an increase in the student drop-out rate, which can impact them lifelong and take away opportunities they would have had if they didn’t stop going to school.

Economic loss

Colleges, schools, and other educational instructions have contributed a majority of a state or city’s income for the longest time. Generating a large amount of revenue every academic year, colleges and schools greatly impact a nation’s economy when they are shut down for any reason. COVID-19 closures weren’t any different.

The closure of educational institutions has a domino effect on local businesses such as restaurants, movie theaters, shops, and more. Students living on campus spend money on various things, and this suddenly stops when they move back home. Local communities around colleges and universities have suffered greatly since the pandemic.

Final Words

To face the challenges posed by COVID-19 to global education systems, governments can take the following actions: start implementing learning recovery, ensure that the education budget stays protected, and prepare for future situations. These terms will protect students and prevent some really harmful after-effects of a pandemic if it were to happen again in the future.

Author’s Bio – Diane Sherron

Diane Sherron is an education writer whose background in economics has helped her in her work. She publishes blogs and articles on her website, as well as contributes to her local newspaper. Her years of economic and academic analysis as well as personal experience as a mother of two students who faced the challenges of the pandemic have given her enough knowledge on this topic.