The loss in learning because of the long duration of online classes is a concern even in private schools where most students have steady access to smart devices and the Net, several heads said.
Lack of access to laboratories has made students incapable of handling equipment. Inadequate reading and writing, lack of classroom debates and a reduced syllabus have only added to the loss, several teachers said.
The gap in learning is more pronounced in higher classes or in transition classes when a child is moving from primary to middle school or from the middle to the senior section, the heads of two schools said.
Principals said it would take time for them to assess how much of a learning gap has been created. It is not uniform for all students in a class.
“Each child grasps differently and the gap in learning has to be addressed individually. It is the teacher in the next class who can understand whether the child has followed everything in the previous class or not,” said Sharmila Bose, director, Sushila Birla Girls’ School.
The school is conducting a learning-gap observation study to understand the loss.
Teachers will have to fill in a form about the students who they think have suffered gaps in learning and substantiate it with evidence.
The Telegraph reported on Monday that a survey revealed that over a third of the students of Classes III to V from underprivileged sections, living in villages and slums, were unable to read a sentence.
The survey found that only 28 per cent of rural children were studying regularly, 37 per cent were not studying at all, while 35 per cent were studying from time to time.
In urban areas, 47 per cent were studying regularly and 19 per cent were not studying at all.
Teachers fear that the lack of access to physical infrastructure will have long-term implications for a student.
“Practical classes in labs begin in Class IX and there are intensive practicals in XI and XII, which students are losing out on. They have not done any practicals and do not know how to handle equipment, which is going to impact them when they go to college and need the skills to work in laboratories,” said John Stephen, acting principal, La Martiniere for Boys.
Some teachers are ruing the loss of reading in class or the habit of debate and discussion.
“Students who were academically strong are also falling behind. There is a reduced syllabus and we are having to teach the bare minimum. There are barely any book club activities and opportunities to debate, discuss and share opinions in class,” said Hilda Peacock, director, Gems Akademia International School.
Teachers have observed flagging attention spans. This is manifested across institutions by students switching off their cameras on the pretext of network problems.
The online mode might have made the dissemination of content possible but the question is how much is being grasped.
“It is one thing to point out places on a map on the screen and another to pore over an atlas to study. It is difficult for a teacher to monitor everyone online,” said Anjana Saha, principal, Mahadevi Birla World Academy.
Saha also said the system was taking away the reading and writing habits of students.
“The pen-and-paper mode is sacrosanct. The seriousness of the examination has been diluted because this online system is allowing students to log in while they are travelling or even when there is an occasion at home,” she said.
It will take some time to understand the full implication of this system, said Terence Ireland of St James’ and Devi Kar of Modern High.
“A two-way communication (between teachers and students) is lacking in online classes and we think there has been a loss but the students have to be present in school for us to gauge them correctly,” said Ireland.
