With millions out of work, it can be easy to forget just how widespread the disruption caused by Covid-19 goes. The workforce has taken a major hit, but the education industry has also been damaged in potentially irreparable ways. Companies such as Zoom and Skype have managed to survive during the pandemic solely because they are the only mediums through which students and teachers, or employers and employees, can communicate to learn skills online.
In fact, The Verge covered how Zoom reached 300 million meeting participants when they were only at 10 million in December. This has caused many to wonder whether or not remote work and education will stick around for the future, considering the resources now invested in companies like Zoom. This is just one example of a disruption caused by Covid-19, but here are three more that are strongly affecting the education industry:
Reduced Student and Teacher Motivation
As a whole, both students and teachers have had a hard time staying motivated in an online format. After all, it’s difficult to stay focused when you’re staring at a screen all day. Students in high school are forced to sit at their computer for eight hours a day with mere ten-minute bathroom breaks, and possibly up to an hour for lunch.
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On the other side of the spectrum, teachers are being forced to teach to an unresponsive computer screen, and getting a student to talk is the equivalent of pulling teeth. College and university online courses haven’t fared any better, and it’s in large part due to the fact that all of these schools were not prepared to go online.
Schools that already had online options have done alright during the pandemic, as evidenced by trade schools such as Flatiron School. This is mainly due to the fact that this disruption wasn’t much of a disruption at all. When the pandemic ends, it’s unclear how students and teachers will react to being back in a classroom, and whether or not long-term motivational issues will persist.
Halted International Student Travel
Studying abroad is a fantastic opportunity to meet new people and experience a unique culture. Unfortunately, this is an experience that many students have been robbed of. In some cases, students have actually been trapped overseas in extreme circumstances. As covered in a report on international student mobility, continuity of learning, legal status, and perception of the value of studying have all been impacted by Covid-19.
Remote learning is no substitute for studying abroad, and many international students are missing out on key experiences and development opportunities due to this virus. Going further, and touching on the following point, if fewer international students decided to study overseas, key funding may seriously be impacted.
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Many schools rely on international students to enhance the school’s reputation and appeal overseas so that funds can be earned and reinvested to make the school better. Losing a major demographic, such as international students, as a result of the pandemic would be a serious blow to schools across the world.
Less Funding for Schools in Dire Need
As mentioned above, losing international students would cause a major hit to a school’s funding. Going deeper, though, another problem lies in the fact that international students are not the only source of lost funding. Many domestic students are refusing to pay high tuition costs for online learning, considering they don’t feel they are getting the value of studying remotely.
Due to this, many are turning to trade schools to complete their education given that these institutions have had remote learning perfected for a number of years. Fields such as data science and software engineering have seen a spike as students move away from traditional forms of education.
If schools do not receive the funding they need before the pandemic ends, they may begin to have a serious enrollment problem over the coming months.
Conclusion
Students and teachers around the world have been negatively affected by the pandemic, not to mention the social repercussions occurring to students who can no longer see their friends.
Academic performance, in general, has been far below subpar. Nobody was prepared for how long this pandemic would last and many thought switching to an online format would be temporary. With the virus seemingly coming to an end, though, the future of the education industry is still up in the air.
