Are University Students Being Ignored in the Aftermath of Covid-19?
Three testimonies of how national school systems are struggling to adapt to the highest levels of education
As one of the already most fragile elements in society, the global education system has cracked under the weight of the pandemic, creating one of the largest disruptions in a student’s learning process in living memory.
In European countries where schools remained open, were the educational institutions equipped to provide all the sanitary facilities needed? Is learning from home an effective substitute?
By now students of all grades and institutions should be learning in their classrooms, surrounded by their classmates, while being supported by their teachers, both essential to the social growth and skills development of an individual.
As we all know, this is not the case, as for some students the immediate future looks uncertain, while others are by now used to sit in front of their laptop screen attending one online class after the other.
How can we expect first-grade students to learn how to read and count via Zoom lectures?
Clearly, when it comes to tackling the problem, the government focuses its attention on compulsory education, the one that involves children of a young age, as they represent a high-risk age group and could be possibly more difficult to handle for the educators. How can we expect first-grade students to learn how to read and count via Zoom lectures?
Although we understand the importance of giving the youngest members of the school system a solid base, many university students feel like they’ve been abandoned as media is not talking about them. It looks like they are being left out of the conversation. That’s why I wanted to understand what the situation looks like across Europe. I asked three students from three different EU countries to tell me their experience and give us an insight into the current situation.
PS: All of the interviews will carry a personal perspective and experience. Each student lives the situation differently, meaning that none of the following experiences is universal and applies to the country as a whole.
ELISA, 21, Psychology student in Nice, France
How has your university faced the pandemic outburst?
I’m starting by pointing out that as I’m speaking to you, my region is one of the hot-spots of the country and the one with the most active cases. The first reaction from my University was in March when they decided to suspend all the classes for a few weeks and then the whole semester. In general, most professors didn’t know how to organize because the government didn’t really have a plan at first. It was frustrating because the exam session was approaching and we were not given clear instructions.
We are approaching the start of a new academic year. What is the situation like?
The consequences on this new academic year are really visible: as students, we all assumed that by the end of the summer they would sort out a plan for the new semester but the guidelines we received through emails were very contradictory: we must wear face masks, use hand gel, respect social distancing and then we find ourselves in classes of 400 students with 450 seats.
Do you feel safe in your university environment?
I’m afraid to go to class this semester because I see that people are not following the guidelines. Many students (and professors as well) wear the face masks wrongly or do not seem to take social distancing seriously. There’s definitely general chaos in the university organization but people are not committed to respecting the rules either.
As difficult as it is to manage a situation like this one, what is one thing you would change about the way your educational institution has responded to the pandemic?
I wish the response was quicker, meaning for example that masks should have been mandatory since March and not July. What I feel like is missing is that people who should be an example are not following the guidelines themselves. I feel frustrated, I understand the difficult situation we’re living but concerning my University, I would at least expect that everyone knew how to use the needed technology and be more committed to the rules.
PERNILLE, 22, Economics student in Copenhagen, Denmark
What measures did your University take after Covid19 started to spread?
By the second week of March every kindergarten, school, and university was closed in Denmark. All of our classes were switched to online mode: some of them were living and others were pre-recorded, but it was not motivating at all because we lost all of the social interaction which I feel is important.
Do you think this whole situation has accelerated a nonetheless inevitable switch towards a digital education?
Definitely. A lot of things will switch to online mode soon. One of my professors actually said that he will implement the digital way of teaching to his lessons even when we will go back to regular attendance.
Right now what’s the situation like after the summer break?
We just started the semester three weeks ago. This year we only have one on-site class a day while the others will be held online to limit interpersonal contact. We have some new measures: I can think of hand sanitizing for example, or the fact that our University hired some new employees to make sure we follow the rules. Also in the classrooms, every other seat is marked so we can’t sit everywhere. I feel safe in my University and I’m happy about it because I feel like I really need the social aspect of school so if I had the chance of choosing I still would go.
Do you feel like the media in your country is covering the education system problem giving it the attention it deserves?
Danish media doesn’t really cover the university aspect right now, but I think it’s fine because as long as it is working pretty well and we don’t have big problems, there’s no need to cover it more.
ANNA, 20, Medicine and surgery student in Trieste, Italy
Given the severity of the situation in Italy since the beginning of the crisis, how has your University faced the pandemic outburst?
Despite the 2 weeks delay in February, we managed to kick off the semester through online courses, which were live for the most part. I can’t complain about the overall organization, however, it was the behavior of some individual teacher worth mentioning: a professor chose neither to deliver any lesson nor recording one, using the emergency as an excuse.
Do you think this whole situation has accelerated a nonetheless inevitable switch towards a digital education or, more in general, a contact-free working life?
I always think we should take the best from every situation no matter what. Quarantine has forced us to reinvent ourselves with technology, finding alternative solutions, some of which turned out to be convenient and efficient. So it’s likely some of the measures adopted will be maintained also in the future. For example, an online webinar, rather than an on-field conference can give the possibility to outreach a larger audience, not mentioning the economical aspects, since the logistics’ costs would be cut down. On the other hand, some human interactions are indeed irreplaceable, even with the finest technology!
We are approaching the start of a new academic year. What is the situation like?
We start on 5th October with exclusively a digital format for the first 2 weeks. Then we will have the chance to either attend lessons at uni or follow them from our device at home. To have access to one of the 50 seats in the classroom, it’s necessary to use a reservation system through an app.
Do you feel like the media in your country is covering the education system problem giving it the attention it deserves?
Little media coverage was given to the universities’ situation as if they were less affected than other educational realities. Contrarily in faculties such as medicine, chemistry, or engineering, exams and internships have been significantly delayed, changed in terms of modalities, or called off, slowing down the learning process. Therefore, quarantine has strongly impacted university education as well, even though it wasn’t the main theme in the news.
Youths are said to be the ones causing the spread of the virus due to their carefree lifestyle . Do you feel like your generation is on facing the situation with the necessary maturity?
I personally think young peoples’ behavior has unfortunately changed during these months. After the start of the pandemic, my generation was the first to recognize the importance of respecting governmental dispositions and raising awareness among older individuals as well through social media for example. However, as soon as quarantine came to an end, these same people seemed to forget the virus's existence by crowding the streets, organizing gatherings, and going to clubs. As a result, the virus has changed with them, shifting its target to a younger asymptomatic population, which is definitely dangerous.
As we learned, students’ experiences across Europe may differ, with some inevitable differences as well as some common aspects of course. It was interesting to hear different perspectives on a situation that eventually involved us all with no exception. But it is true that an immediate concern, after having spent some months in a lockdown that changed our educational system drastically, is the fate of an estimated 30 million children who, according to UNESCO, may never return to school. For these, the world’s least-advantaged children, education is often the only escape from poverty and must be preserved.
Acknowledging the problems education across Europe is facing, we must be aware of how lucky we are to still be able to be provided with lessons and courses during a pandemic. Also, as it is true that there is nothing so bad that it’s not good for something, these sudden mid-semester lockdowns might be likely to bring about a shift and development in the obsolete educational tools we always complain about.
