Events
& Issues
New
Delhi, 4 March 2021
Children’s Future
COVID-19 IMPACT
By Dr S Saraswathi
(Former Director, ICSSR, New Delhi)
Child Rights Manifesto has suddenly appeared
when elections for Legislative Assembly in four States and one Union Territory
are due to take place in April. Prepared and released by a group of civil
society organisations working in the field of child welfare and addressed to
parties contesting Tamil Nadu Assembly
election, its demands and the contents are relevant for children across the country.
It mentions a number of persisting problems known and repeated on several
occasions like female infanticide, declining sex ratio, malnutrition, school
drop-out, child marriage, child labour, and so on.
But, the manifesto has not dealt with the
universal problems of children living under epidemic threat-cum-control
measures that are in force. Universal because they are faced and debated in
many countries. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic and of the various mandatory measures
imposed for fighting it will doubtless affect the future of children unless
remedial measures are simultaneously taken.
When the entire world has had been gripped by
a panic mood caused by the pandemic, nobody can be blamed for over-application or
under-estimation of the effects of the instruments used to stem the tide of the
disease. The effects are becoming visible forcing us to think of ways of
mitigating social-economic-psychological consequences of the global war against
COVID-19. Both short-term and
long-term consequences will be felt by children and adolescents that may make
life different for the next generation. Remember – the pandemic war is being
fought in the field of normal daily life from which no individual, not even a
new-born infant, can escape.
According to the Children’s Rights Division
of the Human Rights Watch, around 1.5 billion students are affected by school
closure, child labour, hunger, recruitment to army, child abuse, child
marriage, etc., which are all increasing under direct and indirect impact. In
places already in need of special child-centred policies, these maladies have
escalated. School closure is the main reason for spread of social problems.
Of course, COVID-19 has no power to physically
destroy schools and colleges like natural disasters such as earthquake and
flood or emergencies like war and armed conflicts. But, it can and has been
effectively spoiling school education and all educational activities. It has
posed a big challenge to teachers and students engaged in the task of learning
and to educational managers to conduct institutions without physical presence
of givers and takers of education.
School closure means that most children lose
social contacts necessary for learning. Digital learning is a challenge for
both children and parents. Digital teaching is a challenge for teachers and
becomes a major stress factor for all. Lockdown restrictions effectively cut
the space for children of all social-economic groups. There is a growing
concern in many States in India about children in deprived groups who suffer
more and most likely to lose interest in schooling. It will be difficult to re-awaken their interest
in school education.
For a country with a huge population of first
generation students in schools, for educational administration trying different
means to reach 100% enrolment of school-age population, for the governments
under pressure to offer several incentives to arrest drop-out, COVID-19 is the
worst enemy confronted so far in their mission. The disease is literally
killing education – particularly school education. The lower the grade, the greater
is the adverse impact. Cases of kids forgetting whatever they have learnt and
beginning once again with alphabets and numerals are common.
In short, education today is confronted with
a new danger of “exclusion” resulting from COVID-19 restrictions. It implies
growth of new inequalities. These are aggravated by poverty and lack of
opportunities. The pandemic fight has exposed the intensity of structural
imbalances between rural and urban areas, male and female, and rich and poor in
the digital world.
To be specific, on-line education unleashed
today does not reach all students in equal measure. Many States and many governments do not have
the resources and infrastructure needed to provide on-line education to all
students. Digital divide has to be bridged at the earliest before irreparable
damage is done. All governments have to frame policies and programmes for a
realistic on-line education.
The report of the NSSO (2017-18), reveals
that only 8% of households with children in the age-group 5-24 years have both
computer and internet facilities. Households with access to computer vary
between 4.6% in Bihar to 23.5% in Kerala and 35% in Delhi. In Delhi, Haryana,
HP, Kerala, Punjab, and Uttarakhand, more than 40% households have access to
internet. As a contrast, less than 20% households have this facility in Odisha,
AP, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, MP, and West Bengal.
In Madhya Pradesh, hardly 30% had access to
on-line education when it was introduced. In tribal belts, reaching the
students in many blocks was extremely difficult. No wonder, on-line education
encourages drop-out in such areas. In many States like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and
Jharkhand, schools and colleges were totally unprepared to provide on-line
education and had to start making special preparations and will naturally lag
behind in inter-State comparison.
There is also the risk of exposure to inappropriate
on-line content and on-line predators. Needless
to mention the plight of children of migrant workers, street children, children
in refugee camps, and displaced children whose access to adequate standard of
living is already poor.
Cancelling examinations and granting
promotions without testing are necessary to keep students and teachers within the
educational system, but not for promoting genuine education. Governments have to understand this without
being swayed by emotional considerations and desire to remain popular.
The UN Commission on Human Rights Commission
has noted that the pandemic can have grave physical, emotional, and
psychological effects on children, especially in countries which have enforced mandatory
stay-at-home and limited travel permits, and for children in situations of
vulnerability. Across the world, children are affected by physical distancing,
quarantines, isolation, mask-wearing and other prescriptions and undergo severe
anxiety, boredom, and uncertainty.
Several immediate social-economic impact on
children directly and child protection risks that are emerging daily due to
measures taken to prevent and contain the virus have been experienced. The psychological impact of life under threat
of the pandemic will last long in the minds of the young. In fact, deep impressions
made during childhood remain fresh in the memory of the old.
Fulfilling the agenda for Sustainable
Development by 2030 as originally planned seems impossible with the huge
additional burden imposed by the pandemic. Societal inequalities further
multiplied under COVID-19 increase the difficulties in realising children’s
existing rights. Under these circumstances, our concern for children in
vulnerable conditions and marginalised groups, and children with disabilities
are likely to diminish because of practical difficulties and resource
constraints. They have to be covered with appropriate safeguards like other
children as part of the future generation.
The pandemic and related restrictions are
capable of reversing the progress made in child rights. If child-centred
policies and actions are not adopted urgently, current and next generation of
children will have to bear the brunt of COVID-19 pandemic response measures
with far-reaching negative consequences.----INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
New Delhi
2 March 2021
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