In December 2019 the coronavirus, also known as covid-19 emerged in Wuhan, China. Its spread has been very rapid and has impacted us as a society in many ways. From sudden changes such as working from home, online school, social distancing and government-imposed restrictions on mobility, the effects of the virus have been felt across countries, class, race and so on. The pandemic has had disastrous effects on mental health , the quality of education and the economy. The unemployment rate has been higher than it has ever been since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The sudden changes that have been brought about by the pandemic have caused health hazards such as depression and anxiety. Due to the effects that it has had on education many students are lagging behind. Studies have found that low-income students are the worst affected. Many of them do not have access to computers and some people don’t have internet at home. Many people have lost their jobs which has caused undue levels of stress to the public.

As many people have not been taught how to cope with a public health crisis, we have seen the rise of abuse and suicide. In Japan 879 women took their own lives last October. That is more than 70% higher than it was in October 2019.

As the traditional school system won’t work during a time like this it is important to train teachers on how to adapt and tailor their lessons to fit the limited time that they have. The pandemic forced students to switch to online-schooling overnight. This has caused many problems such as celebrities hijacking classes for views, cyberbullying and predatory behaviour. Due to the lack of training many teachers are not equipped to handle situations like that. Moreover, the trauma that has been caused by the pandemic may inhibit a student’s ability to concentrate thus negatively affecting their performance in school. The pandemic also threatens to undo the years of progress we have made as many might be unable to return to school. This increases their chances of drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and so on. With proper training many of these problems can be avoided. As there has been no prior training people have been hijacking classes and showing students (especially very young students) images that can potentially traumatise them and it may take years to undo the damage that has been done.

This causes another concern: many students who began their school career during the pandemic are used to only online-schooling so what is the education system planning to do about this? The best way to handle a situation like that is to find a way to fit technology into the education system and not add it in as an after-thought. This way children will learn how to use technology productively.

In conclusion many of the problems that have been caused by the pandemic could be minimized if people are taught how to cope, use technology, how to invest money for the future and how to use their time more productively.

By SARAH GUNAWARDENA