IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON EDUCATION

Research Project Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for

Degree of

BCOM Honours
by
AKRAM KHAN

to the
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
BHOPAL SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

APRIL,2021

Submitted by Guided by
AKRAM KHAN Dr. Smitha Pillai
Associate Professor
Department of Commerce
 CERTIFICATE

It is certified that the work contained in the project report titled “Impact of Covid-
19 on Education”, by “Akram Khan”, has been carried out under my supervision
and that this work has not been submitted elsewhere for a degree.

Signature of the supervisor: ……………

Name : Dr. Smitha Pillai, Associate Professor

Department : Commerce

Bhopal School of Social Sciences

April, 2021
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this project report entitled “Impact of Covid-19 on

Education” was carried out by me for the degree of BCOM Honours under the
guidance and supervision of Dr. Smitha Pillai, Associate Professor of Department
of Commerce, BSSS College. The interpretations put forth are based on my
reading and understanding of the original texts and they are not published
anywhere in any form. The other books, articles and websites, which I have made
use of are acknowledged at the respective place in the text. This research report
is not submitted for any other degree or diploma in any other University.

Place: Bhopal
Name of the Student: Akram Khan
Class & Section: BCOM HONOURS 3A
Date: 15th April, 2021
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank our Principal Dr.Fr.John P.J. and Vice Principal Dr. Sr.
Sonia Kurien for their immense support and blessings. I thank our HOD Dr. Amit
Kumar Nag for his support. I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude
to my research guide Dr.Smitha Pillai, Associate Professor of Department of
Commerce for her valuable suggestions and guidance and for giving me this
opportunity to do this wonderful research project on the topic: Impact of Covid-
19 on Education, Without her help it would have been difficult for me to have
reached this state of completion of my project report. Also, I would like to thank
my parents and friends who helped me a lot in the preparation of this project.

I wish to acknowledge the help of all those who have provided me information,
guidance and other help during my research period.
Chapter 1: Introduction of the Topic

1.1 Rationale of the study

1.2 Introduction to the Industry

1.3 Introduction to the Company

1.4 Justification of the Topic

Chapter 2: Review of Literature

2.1 International Review

2.2 National Review

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

3.1 Objective of the study

3.2 Scope of Study

3.3 Data Collection

3.4 Limitation of the study

Chapter 4: Data representation & Analysis

4.1 Data representation & Interpretation

Chapter 5: Results & Discussion

5.1 Major Findings

5.2 Discussion & Suggestions

5.3 Conclusion

REFRENCES
ANNEXURE
 CHAPTER – 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC

1.1 Rationale of the Study

What impact did covid-19 have on education? The impact of pandemic COVID-19 is observed
in every sector around the world. The education sectors of India as well as world are badly
affected by this. It has enforced the world wide lock down creating very bad effect on the
students' life. Around 32 crore learners stopped to move schools/colleges, all educational
activities halted in India. The outbreak of COVID-19 has advised us that change is inevitable.
It has worked as a catalyst for the educational institutions to grow and opt for platforms and
techniques, which have not been used before. The education sector has been fighting to survive
the crises with a different approach and digitising the challenges to wash away the threat of the
pandemic. This paper highlights some measures taken by Govt. of India to provide seamless
education in the country. Both the positive and negative impacts of COVID-19 are discussed
and some fruitful suggestions are pointed to carry out educational activities during the
pandemic situation.
1.2 Introduction to the Topic

The pandemic Covid-19 has spread over whole world and compelled the human society to
maintain social distancing. It has significantly disrupted the education sector which is a critical
determinant of a country’s economic future. February 11, 2020, the World Health Organisation
(WHO) proposed an official name of the virus as COVID acronym for Coronavirus disease
2019. It was first identified in Wuhan, China on December 31, 2019. First death by COVID 19
was the 61-year old man in Wuhan, China on January 11, 2020. WHO declared COVID-19 as
a pandemic on March 11, 2020. The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic reported on 30
January 2020 in the state of Kerala and the affected had a travel history from Wuhan, China
(Wikipedia). The first death due to COVID-19 was reported in India on March 12, 2020. It has
affected more than 4.5 million peoples worldwide (WHO). According to the UNESCO report,
it had affected more than 90% of total world’s student population during mid-April 2020 which
is now reduced to nearly 67% during June 2020. Outbreak of COVID-19 has impacted more
than 120 crores of students and youths across the planet. In India, more than 32 crores of
students have been affected by the various restrictions and the nationwide lockdown for
COVID-19. As per the UNESCO report, about 14 crores of primary and 13 crores of secondary
students are affected which are two mostly affected levels in India.

After observing the corona virus pandemic situation, the WHO advised to maintain social
distancing as the first prevention step. So, every country started the action of lockdown to
separate the contaminated people. The education sectors including schools, colleges and
universities became closed. Classes suspended and all examinations of schools, colleges and
universities including entrance tests were postponed indefinitely. Thus, the lockdown
destroyed the schedules of every student. Though it is an exceptional situation in the history of
education, COVID-19 has created many opportunities to come out of the rigorous classroom
teaching model to a new era of digital model.

The lockdown has compelled many educational institutions to cancel their classes,
examinations, internships etc. and to choose the online modes. Initially, the educators and the
students were quite confused and didn’t understand how to cope up with the situation of this
sudden crisis that compelled closure of the educational activities. But latter on all realized that
the lockdown has taught so many lessons to manage with the emergence of such pandemics.
Thus, COVID-19 has created many challenges and opportunities for the educational institutes
to strengthen their infrastructure. The lockdown has given them a ray of hope for teachers and
students to continue their educational activities through online. The teachers assigned work to
students via internet, delivered lectures video conferencing using different Apps like Zoom,
Google meet, Facebook, YouTube, and Skype etc. There are WhatsApp groups of guardians,
teachers, students and parents for affective communication through which they are always in
touch to share their difficulties through this e-medium. In a nation like China that practices a
considerably more centralization system, a change to digital learning may be simpler. Even in
a nation like the U.S.A, there are some low pay students who don’t approach broad bands and
unable to use computerized learning arrangement (Study Abroad Life). The same is the
situation that happens with India where not every student is well equipped with the high-speed
internet and digital gadgets and are along these lines of suffer. Numerous advanced educational
institutions in India are not also equipped with digital facilities right now to cope up with
sudden change from traditional education set up to the online education system. (Covid-19
Educational Disruption and Response, 2020) (UNESCO, 2020)
1.3 Justification of the Topic

The present research report is focusing on quantifying the impact of Covid-19 on Education,
which helps to understand is online teaching mode effective in providing knowledge to students
or not in the pandemic. The primary data on the field is collected through questionnaire and
responses are analyses on percentage basis.
 CHAPTER-2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.1 International Reviews

2.1.1 Online Distance Learning versus Face-to-Face Comparative Studies

A large number of studies, before pandemic, compared face-to-face with online distance
courses in terms of university student performance, as well as many other academic and
demographic variables of students. For example, Soesmanto and Bonner evaluated a dual mode
design in which students of year one of a business school at the Griffith University in Australia
have the option to undertake the same statistics course in a face-to-face mode and/or an online
mode. The comparative analysis suggested no significant differences in learning satisfaction
and academic performance of the two cohorts within the dual mode system. In a similar study
done in California State University, Tan suggested that, with proper training and support of
technology, university instructors are delivering both the on-ground and online sections of a
business technology course with the same effectiveness as measured by students’ grade points.

For a different type of courses, Lorenzo-Alvarez et al. found that a radiology course taught
online at a university in Australia resulted in similar academic outcomes to F2F learning. In
their online vs. face-to-face comparative study, Cavanaugh and Jacquemin compared grade-
based learning outcomes between online and face-to-face course taught at Ohio University,
using a large dataset of 5,000 courses taught by over 100 faculty members over a period of ten
academic terms at a large, public, four-year university. Given the large scale of the study, the
results suggest no difference in grade-based student performance between instructional modes
for courses where both modes are applicable. According to the regression analysis of the study,
the primary influence on individual course grades was student GPA. Students with higher
GPAs performed better in online courses, and students with lower GPAs performed worse
when taking courses in an online format compared to a face-to-face format.

Nyer investigated effective ways of quickly offering an online lecture in a course that is
otherwise taught using traditional face-to-face lectures at Chapman University in California.
The study compared student learning outcomes (using test scores) across three modes of
delivering lectures: using a traditional face-to-face lecture, using online instruction where the
lecture was delivered using a video recording of the classroom lecture, and using online
instruction where the lecture was delivered using a static document created from an edited
transcript of the classroom lecture embedded with charts, graphs, etc. The results showed that
quickly created online instruction methods scored lower in engagement compared to the
traditional face-to-face lecture. Students who were exposed to the online lecture delivered
using a static document and students attending the face-to-face lecture both reported having
higher quality of notes compared to students exposed to the video recording. Finally, the effect
of the different instructional material on student test scores was found to be mediated by student
engagement and perceived note quality.

2.1.2 Online Distance Learning and the COVID-19 Lockdown

The research of Bozkurt et al. is one of the early studies reporting the impact of the interruption
of education due to COVID-19 pandemic in 31 countries. In addition to the assessment of each
case by country, the study highlighted major themes that have commonly arisen in these
countries from the interruption of education during COVID-19, such as the inequity and the
digital divide which have been aggravated during the pandemic, the need for alternative
assessment and evaluation methods and the needed switch to formative assessments through
both synchronous and asynchronous means, and the use of online proctoring services as a way
to control for cheating and academic dishonesty.

The research by Hjelsvold et al. is also one of the first studies which investigated educators’
feedback on the distance learning during the COVID-19 lockdown, as a result of a survey
conducted on 303 university students and 56 educators in Norway. The study reported that
short time and lack of ready resources were important barriers to sudden shift to distant
learning. Even though learners and educators report a lack of practice in online education, the
study declared that they both adapted fast, showing a positive attitude towards the change.
According to the results of the survey, key factors affect the online experience during the first
weeks of distance learning, and these are as follows: from learners’ side: feedback to
instructors, engagement in discussion forums, use of online tutorials, and participation in group
work; from educators’ side: timely communication and clear instructions about formative and
summative assessments, exams, quizzes and assignments, informing learners of how to get
help, providing support using synchronous and asynchronous tools, ensuring virtual place for
students-to-students and students-to-instructor online interaction, and giving advice to students
to set their study place and schedule for an effective study-at-home experience; from leaders
and administrators’ side: timely communication with students especially with exam regulations
and petitions, supporting learners in preparing new pedagogical approaches to teaching as well
as learning new tools, and providing a more collective approach to the coordination of activities
and collaboration between educators.

2.1.3 Distant Learning and Higher Education Plans in Egypt after COVID-19

Egypt has the largest education system in the Middle East and North Africa region with 52,000
schools, accommodating 20 million school students, and 44 universities with 830 higher
education institutions, accommodating 3 million higher education students. In March 2020, the
Egyptian government made a set of immediate precautionary decisions to confront the dangers
of the emerging Corona virus, the most important of which was the closure of all schools,
universities, and higher education institutions. The Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education and
Scientific Research, to ensure the continuation of the educational process, urged higher
education institutions to apply distance education as a modality during the lockdown.

In May 2020, four nation-wide surveys were administered to assess the Egyptian experience
of distance education in Egyptian universities and higher institutes, to measure the satisfaction
of educational leaders, professors, administrators, and students, and to set an integrated vision
of the future of distance learning in higher education in Egypt. The data collection was based
on the crowdsourcing approach, whereby surveys were placed on various portals. A total of
106,897 participants filled the survey: 1,041 educational leaders, 11,100 faculty members,
1,258 administrative staff, 89,867 Egyptian students, and 3,631 international students.

The results of the four surveys included the following: the majority of educational leaders
endorsed online distant learning in higher education; Internet connectivity and weak IT skills
are the most prominent difficulties of distance education in Egypt; and recorded lectures are
the most plausible ways to deliver educational materials [16]. Based on the recommendations
of these nation-wide surveys, the government of Egypt decided to integrate face-to-face with
online distant learning in all future higher education plans. This plan for merging on-campus
and online distant learning will not only put the Egyptian universities in a state of movement
for any urgent conditions such as COVID-19, but most importantly achieve vital educational
objectives, such as reducing student density, making the best use of the expertise of professors
and technological infrastructure of universities, and making a gradual transformation of
students to lifelong learners.

This study investigates the overall learning experience after the sudden shift from face-to-face
to online distance learning due to COVID-19 lockdown at one of the universities in Egypt.
Since Egypt decided to integrate online distant learning into all future higher education plans,
the main aim of this study is to provide recommendations for future application of this mode
of learning in the Egyptian higher education institutions. The main research question of the
current study is to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in terms of
academic performance between face-to-face learners of an undergraduate course taught on-
campus in Spring 2019 and learners who completed the same course but fully online via long
distance learning during the COVID-19 lockdown in spring 2020 semester. The study also
assesses professors’ feedback and students’ satisfaction concerning the online distance learning
experience during the lockdown.

2.2 National Reviews

2.2.1 Cancellation of Exams

In India, all academic activities were suspended after the announcement of the University
Grants Commission (UGC) on 19 March to postpone examinations in all universities until the
end of March. All the central universities like the University of Hyderabad announced to defer
all academic activities and close their hostels, and even private universities the SRM Institute
of Science and Technology and VIT, Vellore declared the summer vacation for students
(Crawford et al., 2020).

2.2.2 Change in online teaching for upliftment

An Indian national newspaper, The Hindu (April 14, 2020 ) reports that during the most
significant months of February to April, which includes activities around the curriculum and
assessments, around 60 million students around the world are restricted to home. Both students
and teachers are under the pressure of not losing the academic time and are trying to re-design
the teaching-learning techniques by changing it to an online mode, which is the only possible
alternative at the moment (The Hindu, April 14, 2020). However, the bigger question is why
the online mode of teaching-learning has not been adopted (by replacing the face-to-face mode
of teaching-learning) before the pandemic when other activities or industries have changed
from offline mode to online? The Hindu (April 14, 2020) states that online learning is an
amalgamation of various pedagogical models instead of anyone single model as it is a
specialized learning science that includes delivery of content, behavioural analytics, learning
psychology and assessments. This enables to measure the learning progress of individuals and
therefore, having a ‘hand-stitched’ mechanism of delivery is the need of the hour. Through
interactions and discussion in the face-to-face classes, the teachers get an idea of the prior
knowledge and the collective ability of the students based on which they can customize the
teaching-learning techniques and lesson plans. However, this becomes difficult in the digital
platform. The focus is not on delivering the content but ensuring effective opportunities for
learning. The shift is, thus, from a teacher-centric approach to a learner-centric one. The aim is
always to impact learners in such a manner that they are able to understand concepts better,
think effectively and apply them practically. Thus, it becomes extremely essential for
facilitators to further orient themselves to become efficient disseminators of knowledge on
digital platforms.

2.2.3 Difficulties to opt for online Teaching

According to the Key Indicators of Household Social Consumption on Education in India
report, based on the 2017-18 National Sample Survey, less than 15% of rural Indian households
have Internet (as opposed to 42% urban Indian households). A mere 13% of people surveyed
(aged above five) in rural areas — just 8.5% of females — could use the Internet. The poorest
households cannot afford a smartphone or a computer The Indian Express (June 8, 2020).

The digital divide has not only led to the exclusion of students from poor and m arginalized
backgrounds from digital learning but also pushed many underprivileged students towards
depression and death. For instance, In the Indian state of Kerala, a 14-girl committed suicide
as she was unable to join online classes The Hindu (June 11, 2020). A 16-year-old boy (class
10 student), from a very poor family, took his life because he did not have a smartphone to
attend online classes and examinations organized by his school in the Chirang district of Assam
in India (The Hindustan Times, June 24, 2020).
 CHAPTER – 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Objectives of the Study

1. To find impact pandemic on education sector.

2. Finding strategies to counter impact of pandemic in this sector

3.2 Scope of the Study

3.2.1 The purview of the study is to analyse the impact of pandemic on education sector.

3.2.2 For analysis primary data is collected through the means of questionnaire and analysed
and based on that results are been stated.

3.2.3 The standard population size of people of age group between 19-35 years is taken.

3.2.4 The duration of the study is of 2 months.

Topics discussed under this study are:

• Enlightenment of various measures taken by Govt. of India for education sector

during this Pandemic.
• Highlights of various measures taken by Govt. of India for education sector
during this Pandemic.
• Enlisting of some negative impacts of COVID-19 and some effective suggestions
for continuing education during the pandemic situation.

3.3 Data Collection

For conducting this research, primary data was collected through the means of questionnaire.
Data collection done through this has been analysed and method use to interpret the data is
percentage method of data collection.

The data collected here is from different working age groups in the education sector to
understand its impact better.

3.4 Limitation of the Study

1) The main limitation for this study was due to pandemic that struck all over the world. Due
to the social distancing norms and prevention methods, the data which could have been
collected in person more accurately was all collected online.

2) Data collected under the “maybe” or “other” section in the questionnaire was interpreted in
a manner which helped the study and could be interpreted differently.

3) The sample size is only confined to 36 people of Bhopal.

 CHAPTER – 4

DATA INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS

4.1 Data Representation and Interpretation

The data collection was done through a structured questionnaire. The designed questionnaire
had two parts.
• The first part focused on the data related to demographic characteristics of the
respondents: this covered gender, age, education.
• The second part of the questionnaire measures the model variables.

4.1.1 A total of 36 respondents were collected in this study and the gender classification was
as under:

• From the above pie-chart it is clearly visible that males are more than females i.e.
55.6% in the total respondents.
4.1.2 The Age and Qualification of the respondents us shown under via pie charts:

• It is clear from the information given in this pie chart that the most popular age range
taking this survey was “Under 20” years old comprising of 52.8% of the total
respondents, the other ranges did take the survey however “Under 20” was by far the
most popular category, this shows the age range in which the Impact of pandemic on
Education in this survey applies to.
• The maximum no. of qualification of people lie in the “Under-Graduate” section
, 47.2% while “High School”, “Post-Graduate” and “Other” qualification of people are
close to each other in group.
4.1.3 Following are the model variable collected in this survey for the study:

• Most of the people in the survey conducted were familiar with the concept of online
classes i.e. 75% while the rest 25% were all new to this online teaching system.
• Most of the people had facilities like mobile phone or laptop for joining online classes
i.e. 86.1% while the other 13.9% troubled getting any means to have facilities to
attend online classes.

• It is to pay emphasis that the 47.2% of the people say that workload has been
significantly been smaller or reduced during the pandemic because of online classes
and online submission of assignments which is much easier for the students to submit,
while people also state that the workload has been same i.e. 33.3% of the group while
the rest 19.4% face to be greater due to inaccessibility of online submission materials.
• Here 55.6% people have Completely different experience as they have never been into
online mode of teaching
• 19.4% people find online teaching to be similar with offline as they have been thorough
with the concept of it.
• While 25% people found it to have a slightly different experience.
• There is no clear justification of are people happy or satisfied with current online classes
as freedom and personal teaching in onsite lectures or comfort and efficient time
utilisation may be the factor.

• From the given information in this pie chart it is not really obvious what people prefer
as to going back to onsite classes, however it can be seen that most people are in the
dilemma as to what to choose.
 CHAPTER – 5
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

5.1 Major Findings

Basic statistical methods are applied for data analysis, like frequency and percentages of replies
in favour and against online education to understand how Covid -19 has affected education.
After evaluating, organizing, tabulation and interpreting data, the conclusions are carried away.
Roughly, 55.6% people have completely different experience in online classes as they have
never been into online mode of teaching, according to 25% it was similar to offline mode and
19.4% told that they had a slightly different experience. While roughly 41.7% of the total
respondents are not sure whether they are happy or not of the current concept of online classes,
the other 33.3% feel it much better than offline classes and the rest 25% are not happy with
this concept. By this it can be drawn out that, most respondents face completely different
experience and they are not even sure of going back to offline mode as both way of teaching
i.e. online and offline has their own pros and cons.

5.2 Discussions and Suggestions

• India should develop creative strategies to ensure that all children must have sustainable
access to learning during pandemic Covid-19. The Indian policies must include various
individuals from diverse backgrounds including remote regions, marginalised and
minority groups for effective delivery.
• Immediate measures are required to lessen the effects of the pandemic on job offers,
internship programs, and research projects.
• Many online learning platforms offer multiple programmes on the same subjects with
different levels of certifications, methodology and assessment parameters. So, the
quality of programmes may differ across different online learning platforms. Therefore,
establishment of quality assurance mechanisms and quality benchmark for online
learning programmes must be developed and offered by Higher Education Institutions
(HEIs) in India keeping in view of rapid growth of the online learning platforms.
• Across the globe, Indian traditional knowledge is well known for its scientific
innovations, values and benefits to develop sustainable technologies and medicines and
 this knowledge systems in different fields should be integrated with a present-day
mainstream higher education system.
• Govt and educational institutes should plan to continue the educational activities
maintaining social distancing. 30-40% students and teachers may attend
schools/colleges in two shifts per day to carry on educational activities by obeying
guidelines for Covid-19.
• At current times, access to technology and internet is an urgent requirement. So, the
digital capabilities and the required infrastructure must reach to the remotest and
poorest communities to facilitate the students to continue their education during the
pandemics. There is a need to deploy public funds to fix the internet gap and ensure
that students continue to learn digitally. The state governments/private organisations
should come up with ideas to address this issue of digital education.
• Some significant issues associated with distance learning strategies like the availability
and access to digital devices with internet connectivity, the need for safe learning
spaces, creating capabilities for teachers, families and students to operate and navigate
digital devices, and engaging lesson plans for disabled students and other marginalised
groups should be addressed by Govt. and the stakeholders.

5.3 Conclusion
COVID-19 has impacted immensely to the education sector of India. Though it has created
many challenges, various opportunities are also evolved. The Indian Govt. and different
stakeholders of education have explored the possibility of Open and Distance learning (ODL)
by adopting different digital technologies to cope up with the present crisis of COVID-19. India
is not fully equipped to make education reach all corners of the nation via digital platforms.
The students who aren’t privileged like the others will suffer due to the present choice of digital
platforms. But universities and the government of India are relentlessly trying to come up with
a solution to resolve this problem. The priority should be to utilise digital technology to create
an advantageous position for millions of young students in India. It is need of the hour for the
educational institutions to strengthen their knowledge and Information Technology
infrastructure to be ready for facing COVID-19 like situations. Even if the COVID-19 crisis
stretches longer, there is an urgent need to take efforts on maximum utilisation of online
platforms so that students not only complete their degree in this academic year but also to get
ready for the future digital oriented environment. The concept of “work from home” has greater
relevance in such pandemic situation to reduce spread of COVID-19. India should develop
creative strategies to ensure that all children must have sustainable access to learning during
pandemic COVID-19. The Indian policies must include various individuals from diverse
backgrounds including remote regions, marginalised and minority groups for effective delivery
of education. As online practice is benefitting the students immensely, it should be continued
after the lockdown. Further detailed statistical study may be undertaken to explore the impact
of COVID-19 on education system of India.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(April 14, 2020 ). The Hindu.

Covid-19 Educational Disruption and Response. (2020). Wikipedia.

(June 11, 2020). The Hindu.

(June 8, 2020). The Indian Express.

The Hindustan Times. (June 24, 2020).

UNESCO. (2020). Covid-19 Educational Disruption and Response.

ANNEXURE
1. Copy of blank Questionnaire:
Personal Details –
• Name:

• Mobile Number:

• Address:
________________________________________________________________

• Occupation:

• Age:
Please select an appropriate option for the asked question
1) Were you familiar with the concept of online Classes?
• Yes
• No

2) Did you had the proper facilities to join the online classes?
• Yes
• No

3) On average, compared to the workload before on-site classes were cancelled, would
you say that your study workload over the last year has been?
• Smaller.
• The same.
• Larger

4) How was the teaching/learning experience compared to before?

• Completely Different
• Similar
• Slightly Different

5) Are you happy with the current Concept of Online Classes?

• Yes
• No
• Maybe

6) Are you willing to take proper precautionary methods and try to go back to onsite
Classes?
• Yes
• No
• Maybe

7) According to you, how did Covid 19 affected your Studies?

________________________________________________________________