COVID-19 Pandemic: Origin and Effects

COVID -19, a new infectious respiratory disease emerged in Wuhan, Hubei province, China in December 2019. It was named by the World Health Organization as COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). It is a new class of coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). It has been found to be responsible for the occurrence of this disease.

The disease is considered the present most crucial global health calamity of the century and the greatest challenge that the human kind-faced since the 2nd World War. As of 18 April 2020, coronavirus disease has affected over 2,164,111 people and killed more than 146,198 people in more than 200 countries throughout the world (WHO, April 18, 2020).

According to the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard, approximately 4.8 million people were infected worldwide by 18 May 2020. The U.S., which has 4.3% of the world's population, accounted for 31.4% of infected people in the world. Europe (including the EU, UK, Switzerland, and Norway) with 6.7% of the world’s population accounted for 28% of infections. Combined, 11% of the world population living in the US and Europe were responsible for about 60% of the infected people in the World.

It is sad to say that till now, there is no report of any clinically approved antiviral drugs or vaccines that are effective against COVID-19. Hence, the disease has rapidly spread across the world, posing enormous health, economic, environmental, and social challenges to the entire human population and severely disrupting the global economy. Unlike previous infectious diseases, which tended to be connected to poor environments, the epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic have been the wealthiest metropolises of industrialized countries. It seems the population concentration in large cities has provoked an even more intensive agglomeration of social and economic activities in high-interaction environments and fostering conditions for the spread of COVID-19.

Most governments around the world have temporarily closed educational institutions in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19.  As of 30 September 2020, approximately 1.077 billion learners are currently affected due to school closures in response to the pandemic. According to UNICEF monitoring, 53 countries are currently implementing nationwide closures and 27 are implementing local closures, impacting about 61.6 percent of the world's student population. 72 countries' schools are currently open.

School closures impact not only students, teachers, and families, but have far-reaching economic and societal consequences. School closures in response to the pandemic have shed light on various social and economic issues, including student debt, digital learning, food insecurity, and homelessness, as well as access to childcare, health care, housing, internet, and disability services. The impact was more severe for disadvantaged children and their families, causing interrupted learning, compromised nutrition, childcare problems, and consequent economic cost to families who could not work.

Looking into the effects of the deadly disease, it has in one or two ways affected the wellbeing and academic life of the students both positively and negatively, which are mentioned and explicitly explained below:

Positive effects of the Corona Virus pandemic

Increased Awareness of E-learning: During the period when schools were shut down, especially in Ekiti State, the government designed an air program to positively engage school-age children as part of the efforts made by the government to curtail the spread of the deadly Corona Virus. This, therefore, exposed the students to the use of radio and television sets for academic purposes and also increased their awareness of E-learning as they were instructed to do online research after each class on air.

Skills Acquisition: Most students were enrolled for skills acquisition like catering, fashion designing, hairdressing, computer training, phone engineering, and lots more to broaden their horizon during the lockdown, thereby, preparing them to be self-reliant and financially independent.

Improved Parent-Child Relationship: Some students, especially those in boarding schools who had not in the past spent a long period of time with their parents got the opportunity during the lockdown as their relationship with their parents was rejuvenated.

Negative effects of the Corona- Virus pandemic on education

Shattered Visions and Dreams: The visions of some students were truncated due to the lockdown. Many were exposed to child abuse practices like hawking and molestation. Others were exposed to peer group influence, and many became victims of sexual harassment. The students in exit classes got demoralized as their expectation as regards their final examinations was cut short.

      However, the shutdown of schools in the country in which the academic year was interrupted has a tremendous effect on the academic syllabus. Some schools had to concentrate on scheduling their second term 2019/2020 examination before the lockdown commenced, while some had to cancel their examination dates in order to curb the spread of the pandemic.

Diminished Social Life: The social life of students, teachers, and parents was reduced. For students, there was no chance for extra-curricular activities like an excursion, inter-state debate, inter-school debate, sporting activities, and other social activities that were put on hold. The lockdown made students stay away from school for a long period of time. A few private schools were able to organize online classes for their students that they might not while away their time, while most students, especially in Government schools were left to their fate. Parents and teachers have to stay away from works and schools.

Low Financial Status of Private School Owners and Workers: During the lockdown, the financial status of private school owners and their workers was very low as their only source of income comes through the payment of students’ school fees, thereby causing most of them to live dogs’ life.