The last couple of months have been difficult for everyone, especially the education sector. Due to the nationwide lockdown because of Covid-19, all educational institutions have been shut down. Now as the government is planning to ease down restrictions and schools are likely to be reopened, EducationWorld recently held a live webinar with an eminent list of panelists who discussed on the challenges and solutions of “School Management in the Post-Covid Era”.
Summiya Yasmeen, who is the Managing Editor, EducationWorld & ParentsWorld, was the moderator and took the audience through the various relevant topics followed by a Q and A session.
The list of panelists include:
Dr Atish Laddad, leading pediatrician, founder and director, Docterz at School, whose topic of discussion was ‘Safeguarding children’s health and well-being’. Increased screen time has led to hyperactivity, impulsiveness and precautitious behaviours, Laddad said. He gave a presentation on how schools can plan and prepare better, preserve ethos, stress on prevention and protocols. He also emphasised that social stigma towards coronavirus should also be addressed and people should understand that it is just an illness which can be cured. Download Dr Laddad’s presentation here Covid Presentation-Schools
Rohit Gajbhiye, co-founder and CEO, Financepeer spoke on ‘Financial planning and management’ – how schools can plan and manage their finances optimally during these trying times. He suggested some alternate modes to earn revenue to keep the schools operating and ensure that the education is not disrupted. Download Rohit’s presentation here Financepeer for Schools
Nooraine Fazal, co-founder and CEO, Inventure Academy, Bangalore told about her take on ‘Transitioning to the new normal in K-12 education’. She spoke about the transitioning of K-12 education in the covid and post-covid era and how it has impacted the way people teach, learn, work and play. It’s not just about syllabus completion anymore – learning will still continue but the real question lies what and how?. She also said that the government should create a sustainable environment for all stakeholders to collaborate and help embrace technology to reimagine education.
Kausar Sayeed, secretary, Telangana Parents Association spoke on the topic ‘Parental expectations from school managements’. She spoke about parental expectations from schools on social distancing, online teaching and digital screen time. She said according to a survey conducted by the association, 95.6 per cent parents are not okay with sending their kids to schools anytime soon as they worry that ensuring hygiene, cleanliness and maintaining social distancing could not be possible considering the strength of the school.
Our special invitee included Shishir Jaipuria, Chairman, Seth Anandram Jaipuria Education Society and Co-Chair FICCI Arise. He spoke about the challenges faced by students when it comes to online learning and screen time, creative methods used by teachers to teach, assessment of the students, parental engagement and the agility by the schools to move classes to a digital platform. He also shared how important financial stability is for the schools so that the teaching and non-teaching staff are also paid their salaries on time.
Recommended: EW webinar on ‘Redefining early childhood education in the Covid-19 age’
Also read: EW webinar on ‘Parenting youngest children (3-8 years) in the lockdown age’