The coronavirus pandemic spread in China and other parts of the world since December 2019. Its spread did not only take lives and threatened a lot of them but had a huge negative impact on our daily lives. Countries had to adapt to changes that the pandemic brought into people`s lives.
People lost control of their lives because there were compulsory measures to follow to try and save as many lives as possible. The government did its utmost best to take all the necessary medical procedures to combat the virus. South Africa, in particular, had doctors come in to assist with the spread of the virus.
The education system had to physically pause for a period of time. New strategies had to be implemented to try and keep the education system going. Strategies like E-learning and emailing were most active during the high spread of the virus.
Measures taken to prevent the coronavirus pandemic
Firstly, one of the measures to take in preventing the spread of the virus was to be isolated. People could not meet and be close to each other. When the virus was still on high infections, people were not allowed to leave their houses unless it was crucially necessary. This measure prevented schools from physically operating.
Home study
Being away from the study institution to study from home was not ideal for every student. To students who were already doing it, it was easy to adapt. On the other hand, to others, it was a new process altogether. E-learning had become fully utilized by institutions to continue with teaching and learning. Therefore, the education system did not completely cease to function during the pandemic. Although online learning was used before the pandemic, this was the time where it was considered. It was the first measure taken to help with the progress of education.
The main challenge that students have with online learning is access to the internet. This may be caused by the areas they reside in or internet affordability. The matter of affordability does not only affect the students but parents as well. In a much deeper sense, the effect on the education system the pandemic has does not only affect students. As much as the pandemic has given countries the opportunity to utilize their e-learning technology, it has however created a barrier between the rich and poor.
The future of education
A lot of students will adapt to the technology of online learning as it has been the culture since the spread of the pandemic. Online learning might be fundamental in the education system. This means institutions will have to make digital learning compulsory.
Furthermore, online learning will not be favorable to some students. Therefore, they will have less learning energy. Also, some students are not strongly independent. This means they won`t be much dedicated to their studies as going to the actual classroom. Like any other technology or strategy, it has advantages and disadvantages.