After a long long hiatus of almost 2 years, the schools are limping back to open its doors. Children are at last coming back to school, and this time they are more than eager to do so. Though parents are divided in their opinion of safety, teachers are relieved to engage classes in the traditional offline mode. Children and teachers alike have had enough of these online engagements holed up in their respective houses. The pandemic changed the teaching –learning environment like never before.
While millions of children were forced to drop out of the education process since they could ill afford the technology driven classes, the children who attended the distant classes faced their share of challenges. Virtual after all is not real – the fun of wearing the crisp washed uniforms, tension of running to school before the bell rings, the routine of queuing up for the morning assembly, comfort of sitting next to best friend in the classroom, enjoyment of sharing lunch boxes, the sheer frolic of games time, the eagerness of partaking in debates, drama and dance, and not to forget the heartaches of the little fights and bitter complaints and then making it up, going through exam anxiety and disappointment or joys of class results- alas! Where were they??
Children have lost out on a whole lot of experiences that is normal for their age. In fact, research has shown that the pre-school children have an impaired language development due the pandemic. The psycho-social impact on school-going children is expected to be strong due to their being locked up in their homes for so long and with their earlier daily habits broken. They would now find it difficult to follow the school regimen, focus on their lessons and socialise with their friends. Teachers will have to brace up to several challenges apart from developing a novel teaching-learning methodology and bringing back the desired level of discipline. The biggest challenge of all, will be dealing with rising mental health issues in children. They would need to recognise the symptoms, provide counselling, interface with parents and also know when experts need be consulted. It is a daunting task, but then we are passing through tough times that call for some robust measures. An orientation programme need to be organised by schools, governments and civil society for teachers, parents and other adults dealing with children regarding mental health issues in children.

Dr Manika Ghosh