In an all-new series titled Students’ Corner, Ananya Shailendra Sinh Solanki, Head Girl, Neerja Modi School, Jaipur interacts with EducationWorld about her likes and dislikes, passion and the pandemic stress.

Q. The Students’ council representative is one of the most coveted positions in schools. How are/were you carrying out your responsibilities online and amidst the virtual classes? How different was it compared to the pre-covid times?

Students’ Council representative is undoubtedly a designation that one is proud to earn. It was a bit tougher to soldier on with responsibilities online amidst the virtual classes but we essayed to our best potential so as to make it a success. As student representatives, we organized workshops to help students get accustomed to online learning. We also held virtual celebrations for festivals and events like Diwali and Teachers’Day. We successfully organised the School MUN conference, Jaipur Debate, Interschool Cultural Meet, Budget Debate, etc online. Digitization has given a makeover to all the experiences.There may have been a massive difference in the mode but in terms of enthusiasm displayed by the students as well as the efforts put in by the student body, there was no difference. Although we were connected with each other virtually, we tried our best to celebrate each moment the way we used to do in pre-pandemic days.

Q.Going by reports, even after re-opening not many students are attending in-person classes. What has the response been in your school?

Our school has a warm and safe ambience, so the overall response has been quite good. It is usually said that a person feels homesick after being away from home for a long time but being school sick is quite unheard of. I must admit that most of us had become school sick and desperately wanted to return to our Alma Mater.  My fellow students were delighted to meet their friends, teachers and be in their classrooms once again. Although the classes did not resume with full capacity, the majority of students not only did attend in-person classes regularly but also chose to attempt offline exams.

Q.Is online learning a preferred choice?

The offline mode of learning is certainly a preferred choice for all of you owing to the emotional connection that we have with our teachers and the bonding with our fellow students. Online mode has been in practice only out of necessity. The reasons are self-evident. The online pattern doesn’t exude the warmth and personal connection that is abundantly present in the offline medium of instruction.

Online learning might be more convenient for some, but in terms of understanding and concept-learning, offline learning continues to be the preferred choice. Moreover, effective learning never happens in a comfort zone.

Q.Since there has been little time for revision of the previous year’s syllabus and the pandemic has caused disruptions in continued education, how do you think the learning gap can be bridged?

Well! To be honest enough, our mentors have completed and revised the entire syllabus with dexterity all through. But the disruptions will require extra effort from both the students and the teachers’ end. As far as the learning loss is concerned I don’t see any such problem in the senior school as students are well equipped to handle online learning tools. However, there might be learning loss in the Early Years of schooling which I’m not very sure of.

Q.According to you, what is more, viable at this stage? Is it returning to physical classes or a continuation of the online ones?

In my opinion, returning to physical classes is a more viable option at this stage. Continued periods of online learning have led students to lose touch with real education and have made studentsglued totheir devices which has its own complications.Regular in-person meetings with peers, teachers, and the administration chisel a student like no glorified online medium can do.

Q.How was your practical classes (lab sessions) managed during the pandemic?

Conducting experiments or practical work physically in labs was naturally not possible during the lockdown. Though lab work is an integralpart of the school curriculum, it had to suffer because of the pandemic. We learned about practical applications and experimental designs through virtual labs, which are simulations of actual laboratories. We also watched our teachers and peers perform simple experiments at their homes via the virtual platform. As I have stated earlier, our diligent mentors made this also possible for us.

Q.How did you make up for the missing peer interaction? Have you managed to stay connected with your friends?

Friendships had been redefined during Covid. Although it was not easy to stay connected with all my friends, I did manage to stay in contact with most of them through regular video calls on virtual platforms and engaging in a variety of online activities together, like playing online games or watching movies together. Surprisingly, I even managed to make new friends and grew closer to some of my old ones through these activities.

There have been last-minute changes in exam patterns, evaluation criteria, etc. How have you dealt with this?

Last-minute changes do come to test our resilience. What helped us in dealing with these unprecedented changes was taking guidance from our teachers as well as being in constant touch with our peers.

Special doubt sessions were organized, more practice worksheets were provided which were evaluated on the changed criteria and pattern.The exhaustive feedback given by our teachers was quite helpful.

Q.What does the government need to do to support children during the pandemic as classes have gone online?

In economically challenged areas, huge help must pour out from the government.Widespread access to technology for the students belonging to low-income groups, proper training of teachers, small digital classroom pools should be created for underprivileged sections. These are a few initiatives that must be taken by the government.

Q.Now that schools are reopening in a phased manner, are you apprehensive or eager to join school back? What is your parents’ take on the issue?

Of course, I am excited. I am yearning to go back to my school, my classroom, my teachers, and my friends.

I can bank on my parents for this support. They too believe that going back to school is important and we must learn to coexist with the uncertain.

Q.In the absence of in-person interaction with teachers, how do you keep abreast with the latest career options or higher education prospects available to you currently?

Neerja ModiSchool has a robust counselling department that engages with high school students throughout the year. There has been no change in its operation due to covid except the universal transition to online mode.

The counselling department has provided regular and extensive support for filling up college applications, preparation of SAT, essays, profile building activities, reminding us of deadlines, etc. The only difference has been in the engagement. My school has been marching forward when it comes to the education and career prospects of its students – offline or online, doesn’t matter much.

Q.How did you cope with exam stress? Did you have access to a counsellor who could help you through difficult times?

Most exams have currently been conducted online since the onset of the pandemic. Given that we have written our grade 10 board exams, we have been well prepared to handle exam stress.

Besides, seasoned counselors, we have experienced and compassionate teachers who guide us well at each step.

The school has been supportive in providing extra help through the online platform as well.

Counselor sessions, some of which are general, have helped us to cope with any difficulty that we are faced with. Counselors and teachers were available for individual sessions throughout this period. So exams were not a source of stress for me or my classmates.

Q.As per the CBSE new pattern for Class 12 the exam will be held twice a year with a reduced syllabus, one exam for each term. What is your take on this?

The new pattern has both pros and cons. For students who wish to undertake regular undergrad Liberal Arts Programs, there is a reduced workload, and phasing out is a better idea because they can focus on the specific content that isa part of each exam in greater detail.

However, for those preparing for competitive exams, this new pattern might bring difficulties since they would need to study the entire course for their competitive exams.

Q.How are you preparing for competitive exams? Are you attending post-school tutorials?

Personally, for me, there has been no need for post-school tutorials since I am not preparing for any competitive exam. I am currently studying in IBDP 2 and aspire to go abroad for my undergraduate studies.

For those who are preparing for competitive exams, the school extends help by providing extra classes and also organizing internal exams to suit their schedules to provide flexibility and reduce any pressure or anxiety.

Q.Have you understood the National Education Policy 2020’s takeaways? What is your take on it?

I believe that it is a step in the right direction. The National Education Policy 2020  is expected to bring about the expected change in the way the curriculum is designed and expectations from the students.

A few things I have taken note of are:

• It helps low-income students by opening and providing funding for vocational schools to develop their employment skills. Additionally, due to the NEP, dropouts can also retake classes which is a good step because it provides students a second chance.
• NEP also integrates the country into the international education curriculum by opening Indianuniversities to international students.
• It is also trying to build up college proficiency with an SAT-like entrance exam, which is a commendable step for sure.
• It will enable the flexibility of choosing subjects. The stream system(Science, Commerce,Humanities) will be done away with which is a welcome step.

NEP has a vast repertoire of good things. What matters more is that all the good work on paper should be implemented in the right spirit.

Also Read:Learning loss’ can be bridged if students take responsibility of learning’