How to make up for a lost year

Shutdown of educational institutions further extended
File photo

The last one year of the coronavirus pandemic appeared as a nightmare. It was a great shock to the students embracing remote learning amid a prolonged closure of their educational institutions. However, the nightmare is disappearing with the availability of Covid-19 vaccine in Bangladesh. The government has also decided to reopen the educational institutions from the end of March. Now, we need a well plan to fill up the gap of an unproductive period of academic year.

Students’ sufferings

The way the students studied last year was totally unfamiliar to them. For sure, they missed the charm of physical class while receiving the online tutorials through personal computer or smart phone. Most of the students were not habituated with the self-reliant remote learning. In consequences, many students either became inattentive to their studies or dropped out. And those who dedicated to continue study also faced many difficulties.

Way out

1. Revise the previous studies: As the students, in general, discontinued studies, coping with new class tutorials would be tough now. Revision on the pre-pandemic time tutorials after reopening of the classes would be helpful. For example, teachers could take short-term preliminary class on the class-3 topics for the students promoted to class-4.

2. Teach the topics that left unread last year: Last year, many schools failed to complete full course during online class. We presume that students didn’t learn the tutorials properly. If they are not promoted to the upper class, they will lose one year from their academic career. This is unexpected. That’s why, all the school authorities should retake classes on crucial topics from the syllabus. The makeup classes for the next 2-month period would somehow compensate the students, I think.

3. Study in the new class: It will take four months in the current academic year if a school follows the number 1 and 2 suggestions. Here, I recommend for a concise syllabus for this year.

To fill up the gap of one unproductive academic year, educational institutions should play a crucial role. Because, the students have not only lagged behind a year of progress but also suffered by different psychological and social interactions due to an isolated and home-bound living. Hence, the teachers will need to be more careful so that students could cope with new normal academic life. I hope the educational institutions and students will be able to return to new normal soon, following the upper mentioned steps.

*The author is an associate professor of computer science at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA.