The disruption caused to education by the COVID 19 nightmare, with several million children worldwide missing school to reduce chances of being affected by the virus, may herald a revolutionary new way of studying as online education could well prove to be the future of pedagogy.

Across the world, governments are shutting down schools temporarily or curbing their activities, with an estimated 3 million school children affected due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic. They are experimenting with various online methods of teaching to lessen the impact. Closer home, the Delhi government has ordered the closure of all primary schools till 31 March.

A school in Noida closed after a child’s parent was found to be infected by the virus. Another school in a 2 km radius also decided it was better to be safe than sorry and ordered temporary closure. Additionally, the Delhi government has ordered the closure of all anganwadi centres, which play a crucial role in pre-school activities and nutritional benefits for mother and child.

In China, Japan, America, Europe and Southeast Asia, where technology is advanced, online learning can be a substitute, albeit not ideal, to physical presence in school, but in India such a concept is neither practical nor feasible.

Government schools play the important role of ensuring enrolment of children in a country where they form an important part of the labour force, compelled by poverty to contribute to the family coffers. The Right to Education Act ensures free and compulsory education but its implementation is another matter altogether.

The mid-day meal scheme is one way of ensuring optimum enrolment, a task that anganwadi centres, too, undertake to fulfil the nutrition quotient. If the virus spreads, forcing closure of all educational institutions, it will prove to be a big setback to India’s robust campaign to improve literacy levels, especially for the girl child.

The road to boost enrolment figures has been long and arduous and any dent will prove to be a big setback. The concept of online learning is not new but there is no denying the fact that school education is vital for the physiological and psychological well-being of children. It fosters friendships, boosts team work and prepares the child for taking his/her first steps into adulthood.

In this era of double income families, schools also perform the useful role of caring for children in the absence of parents. There is absolutely no substitute for the child’s actual presence in a school environment which fosters healthy competition and encourages physical activity.

Home schooling has its adherents but it is an elite concept that cannot be applied on a mass scale. An individual’s best memories are more often than not related to his/her school days. If the coronavirus spread is not contained swiftly, children are at risk of missing out on an integral part of their development.