How COVID-19 Has Impacted Student Mental Health?

As the cases were rising all over the globe, India soon imposed its first lockdown on 22nd March 2020 as Janta Curfew. The prime minister urged the people of India to follow social distancing, wear masks and sanitize hands regularly. During that period, only 169 people were infected from Corona Virus, and only four casualties were registered so far. All the colleges and schools got shut, and the respective concerned authorities asked the students to vacate their hostels, and soon they found themselves at home because of pandemic effect in education. Due to a sudden lockdown, many students got stuck in their college premises with hostels being closed they had nowhere to go. The line for an air ticket and train ticket increased, and the chances of going back to their respective places decreased. Soon the state borders were closed, and interstate traveling without a proper permit was banned too. Few states also closed their boundaries irrespective of an individual having a license or not. When traveling was banned entirely, it took them a heavy waiting before any help could be possible.  

The effect of coronavirus in education is really significant as a larger mass of students who packed their bags and came back home for just two weeks ended up staying for more than a year, and their wait for going back to their respective colleges and schools continued. The Covid 19 pandemic caught everyone off guard, and it is equally challenging for the students to cope with the present scenario physically and mentally. Humans are social animals, and when they got restricted to one particular place, it didn’t result in a good way. Adaptability is the key, and many students were unable to cope with the change the pandemic brought. All offline activities momentarily started happening online, starting from daily classes to marriage celebrations everything was happening online.  

As much as life seemed easy with things happening online, and everything being available at the fingertips, life became that much harder for the students as a result of the pandemic effect in education.  Any university, college or school have students from various geographical location, and unfortunately, not everyone has a stable internet connection. With 30% of the population of this country that has never seen an electric connection, expecting them to have a stable internet connection is just too much to ask. With colleges and schools starting online classes, it was important for the students to have a stable internet connection. Many people have lost their jobs during the pandemic, times when they are struggling to afford two-time meals a day, having an internet connection, is no less than a luxury. The lockdown happened in March, just before the students were preparing for their final exams. The dates kept on shifting because of the pandemic effect in education. There was no fixed date as to when the exams will take place. The students faced two significant challenges. If the exams got conducted online, a maximum of the students would not be able to give exams because of no internet connection. There was also no invigilator facility available to see if the exams got conducted accurately. The next biggest challenge that they faced was what if the exams are going to happen offline? It had its fair share of problems as it has a significant effect of coronavirus in education. The biggest problem was transportation and communication. As the states kept locking their state boundaries, it was difficult for the students to travel to a destined place for examination purposes.  

Students were asked to bring negative covid reports to enter the examination center. However, there was no mention of those students who got covid and recovered from it. Many students could not appear for the examination for the same reason, and that results in mass distress resulting in one of the major effects of the corona virus in education. It took a heavy toll on the student’s mental health. As the first wave of the covid 19 pandemics was about to get over, the government decided to re-open colleges and schools. Just after the colleges got opened, the students sat down to write examinations. The significant problem students faced was online classes. As it was new to the students, it was also new to the teachers. Many qualified teachers who used to teach well in the classroom weren’t able to convey themself efficiently in online classes.  

This communication gap led to under preparation of the courses. As the government not giving a specific timeline as to when the exams will be conducted, students are getting stressed, tensed, and disheartened. Like we said earlier, humans are social animals. Students getting confined to a particular place is hampering their imagination. The pandemic broke the spine of the global market, with millions losing their job, the placement concern started growing day by day among the students. With students not getting enough training and internship, the companies are also hesitating in picking up students that lack training skills. However, the story of Regional College of Management is different, with over 6387 hours of online personalised classes, and more than 30 companies signing up for an internship, it seems like the pandemic could not slow down the growth of the students of RCM.