Switch to home-schooling

With two successive lockdowns and schools shut, online learning became a necessity for many school goers. The hassles of online learning inspired several Indian parents, who had paid an exorbitant amount of fees to the schools, to consider home-schooling their children.

Read more: Why some parents are pulling their kids out of school in lockdown

Focus on bringing girls back to school

Marriage, domestic work, digital gaps and disrupted income regularly push Indian girls away from formal learning. UNESCO estimates hold that of the 320 million learners in India, who were affected by school closures due to Covid-19, 141 million or 41 percent were girls. As schools and colleges reopened in October, several Mumbai-based child rights organisations channeled their resources and efforts to bring girls back in touch with education.

Read more: Why it is urgent to bring girls at risk of dropping out back to the classroom

Unequal access to digital resources

The pandemic widened digital inequalities in the country as the shift to online learning resources had many city parents struggling to maintain both expenses and their children's attention spans. It was a double whammy of helping their child keep up in class and working out home expenses. Even as some scurried for devices, there were others barely managing to put food on the table.

Read more: Mumbai parents share hard lessons from a year of online learning

Starting offline classes amid uncertainty

A week into school reopening in October, there was still uncertainty about attending classes in person. While teachers tried to balance the needs of both offline and online students, parents and principals navigated protocols to keep students safe and connected.

Read more: Back to School: A week into in-person classes, hesitancy, hope and assurances in the air

Commuting hassle amid vaccine ineligibility

While schools and colleges reopened, there were few public transrtation facilities available for students who stay at long distances from their educational institute. With buses being crowded, trains were the only feasible option for many. However, the double vaccination rule for train access and no vaccine yet for under 18-year-olds meant that a large number of students were unable to take locals. The Central Railway wrote to the state government to explore a solution.

Read more: Mumbai schools may have reopened with caution and care but students not allowed on local trains

Missing out on college life

College students have had to stay indoors, missing out on some of the most important personality-shaping experiences, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of the junior and senior college students have spent the most crucial years of their college life at home. The uncertainty over when they will be able to get back on campus loomed large. As group interactions, cultural events and sports remain on hold or uncertain, city-based psychiatrist Dr Kersi Chavda shared how the lack of socialising affected students.

Read more: College daze: What the lack of social interaction takes away from the college experience

Discussing mental health in schools and colleges

To help college goers cope with the psychological impact of loss of academics and offline college life, the office of the Joint Director of Higher  Education in Mumbai prepared a plan of action – Unlocking Normalcy. The objective is to empower colleges and students to identify behaviours indicating psychological issues and not dismiss them as just personality traits. The process involves creating a safe space to encourage a dialogue about mental health among students, parents and college faculties.

Read more: Mumbai edu body brings mental health to school, college campuses