After a long gap of almost one year, the schools are reopening, and children are celebrating their happiness with welcome posters, flowers, balloons, etc. The most important aspect of the unlocking of the public activities after the surge of the pandemic is the decision to reopen schools of many states of India. However, the decision of lockdown and also unlocking, both have a great impact on the lives of the children. So, let us discuss the details regarding back to school: reopening of school post lockdown and what the children had faced during the lockdown period.

What was lockdown during COVID-19?

During the rapid and global spread of the disease COVID-19, many governments around the world decided to enforce lockdowns and restrictions for the safety of the citizens. Many types of research showed that this lockdown phase had both positive and negative impacts on the lives of the citizens, especially the children.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of lockdown?

At first, the children and their parents were very happy as lockdown means there would be no schools, classes, or exams. Also, no school means there is any chance to get infected by the harmful coronavirus. Children enjoyed their lives while watching movies, cartoons, and spending time with their parents. There was no need to journey a long way to reach their schools in the morning or no need to wake up early.

After some time, the online classes started, and the students enjoyed the new experience of learning from home. Also, as there was no need to go outside, the children could remain safe and breathe fresh air while learning from their homes. Thus, there was no chance of getting infected from COVID-19 by constantly inhaling the polluted air. The children started to interact with their neighbors while enjoying the songs of different birds in a clean environment.

However, though initially, the online classes seemed very exciting, eventually, it became evident that online studies have some disadvantages as well. Also, the atmosphere within the houses of the children was not so pleasant because many people started to lose their jobs and become more addicted to alcohol.

Eventually, the children realized that there were no chances to chat or play with their friends. Also, the kids from the rural areas or the low-income families had it worse. The global surge of deaths and lockdowns has led to several mental and psychological health-related complications in children. The children of rural areas did not have the scope to use the devices and software for learning online.

Impacts of lockdown on young children

The long-term lockdown had a greater impact on the social and emotional development compared to the mature and grown-up people. In several studies, it was reported that, during the lockdown period of the ongoing pandemic, the children of three to six years were more likely to show the signs of fear and tension of their family members being infected. Also, numerous children showed some signs of irritability and inattention. The result of closing the schools was the isolated and fearful behaviors of the children. The lack of playing games and interacting with their friends and teachers increased the lack of innovative ideas and boredom within the school-going children.

A study also showed that the procedure of the cancellation of exams and academic events developed a sense of insecurity among the children. Moreover, due to the long-term confinement, children became more addicted to the Internet and social media, thus increasing their vulnerability for being abused or bullied. Worst of all, during the lockdown period, when the schools, colleges, and other institutions were closed, children faced several incidents of violence and abuse, thus becoming mentally vulnerable.

Impacts of lockdown on children having special needs

It is near about one child in every six children of the age group two to eight who suffers from the difficulties like neurodevelopmental, emotional, or behavioral issues. These children, who need special care, encounter several challenges due to the lockdown during the pandemic situation. They faced several problems to cope with their new situations and hence became more insecure and vulnerable both mentally and physically.

Why was lockdown necessary?

Placing several restrictions on the gathering and movement of people was important to check the rapid spread of coronavirus, as well as to arrest the transmission of the fatal disease known as COVID-19. However, the lockdown was not able to eliminate the virus; however, it was useful in reducing the number of deaths. Social distancing was crucial at that time because this disease was very infectious, and it could spread through the breaths of the people. Thus, closing the schools was also necessary.

However, closing schools cannot have an attractive result in limiting this disease because, though the children were confined within their houses, the parents needed to go outside to earn money and buy the daily necessities. This eventually opened up the scope for the adults to get infected and spread that infection to their kids. So, while following the rules of lockdowns, maintaining proper precautionary measures was also equally important.

Another important aspect of lockdown was to reduce the loads and rush of the hospitals. That gave a chance to the nurses and doctors to treat their patients with the required are.

Back to school: On reopening of schools post lockdown and its effects on the children

Children, who have been studying online for more than one year, are now going back to their school. However, their behaviors show that they are not able to face this situation with proper confidence. Schools in most parts of the country reopened in the last two months and are starting to integrate within the system again.

However, in the “new normal” situation, the schools have changed a lot. Though many children and their parents may feel it a comfortable situation, some are not able to cope with this transition.

Some challenges of the reopening of schools post lockdown are:

1. 1.     The kids refuse to open themselves

According to several counselors, teenage kids are not able to open up themselves and interact with their friends and teachers just like in the past days. Due to the restrictions of the pandemic, many children are starting to avoid each other, and hence suffering mentally.

1. 2.     Challenges of returning to school

While the parents are worried about the reopening of schools, the children also have some fear regarding this changed situation. Many teachers have noticed that numerous children are finding it quite difficult to communicate with each other, and this is eventually turning them into introverts in nature.

1. 3.     Students from poor families have it worse

Students that study in government schools or come from poor families, have it much worse because they could not afford the devices that they needed for online study. However, they also are struggling with this new situation of reopening of schools. Many of those students faced financial problems and could not follow their studies due to the lockdown, and hence now they cannot catch up with their studies after the reopening of schools.

Moreover, many girl students dropped out due to the global surge of pandemics and poor condition of their families, thus leading to the new educational environment of several schools that the existing students are facing now after the reopening of schools.

Opinion of WHO regarding closing the schools

According to WHO, there is no justification for closing the schools for this long period. Even if there any new wave comes, closing schools will be the last resort. There is no proof that opening the schools again will create a surge in the cases of coronavirus and can be harmful to the children. As there is no connection between opening schools and increasing the chances of being infected by a coronavirus, there is no need to keep the schools closed.

The kids are going back to their classes-what to do?

Now, the students are going back to their schools, and hence the kids and their parents may face different emotions like uncertainty, relief, and anxiety. So, it is better to follow several rules, such as washing hands, wearing masks, and maintaining a social distance from each other. Practicing these healthy habits will eventually reduce the risks of getting infections and maintain a healthy school life.

Conclusion

Therefore, back to school: reopening of schools’ post lockdown has both positive and negative impacts on the lives of the students. Only by following several rules and restrictions can one study successfully while maintaining their good health both mentally and physically. We are hopeful that the education of the will provide effective guidelines and curriculum plans so that the valuable time lost during the lockdown period can be compensated. It is truly not easy to get back what children have already lost. Almost two years of detachment from school has a great impact on young minds. However, we must hope for the best and help our kids to prepare themselves for a better world.