During the Covid-19 triggered lockdown restriction period, children have suffered a lot. We have been adversely affected in terms of education and social well-being. Children of lower-income groups have been forced to discontinue their education as the income of parents has reduced or stopped.
Daily wagers who moved to their native places from big cities had to discontinue studies of their children temporarily and it’s uncertain as to when their education will resume. Even children who want to attend online classes need a smartphone but most families in India can’t afford to buy an android mobile for their kids.
Many children are now being forced to work to support their families. Most of the families lack laptops and have only smartphones. As online learning is optimised for laptops, it is difficult to have a good learning experience via smartphones. Not only this, many parents are not financially stable enough to even pay the exam fee for their children for the high school board exams.
A school is also a place for social interaction with peers where children engage in talking, laughing, joking and playing in addition to studying. Thus, the balanced social life of children has been impacted severely.
Lack of physical activity has also affected health. Playing together helps develop mental faculties, evolves the imagination, develops physical and emotional strength. Playing together has reduced a lot as parents are allowing very limited movement of children.
All this has upset children and made them irritable. But there are some positive aspects too. A lot of children got the opportunity to spend proper time with their parents for the first time. Children of the nation are the future and their education and well-being are of paramount importance.
The government and society must work together to take steps to minimise the negative effect of the Covid-19 related restrictions and lifestyle modification on the nation’s children.
Maryam Munir,
Class VII, Manikonda, Hyderabad
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