43% teachers unhappy with online mode of teaching in pandemic: survey

Around 43 per cent of teachers said they were not satisfied with online teaching during the pandemic while nine per cent of them expressed complete dissatisfaction with it, according to a survey.

Around 43 per cent of teachers said they were not satisfied with online teaching during the pandemic while nine per cent of them expressed complete dissatisfaction with the mode of education, according to a survey.

A total of 220 school teachers participated while 20 people, including eight teachers, were interviewed for an online survey published in the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights' (DCPCR) first journal -- Children First: Journal on Children's Lives.

A majority of teachers (43 per cent) expressed that they were not satisfied with teaching online and nine per cent of the participants were not at all happy with it, the survey said.

The key issues that the teachers identified as the teaching went online due to the pandemic were absenteeism (14 per cent), children with special needs not being considered (21 per cent), low attention span of students (28 per cent), emotional issues expressed by the students (19 per cent), and no assessment or assignment completion by the students (10 per cent).

The participating teachers and students also stated that online emotional support and group engagements by the counsellors and social workers helped children to be more expressive and participatory in online education.

The teachers stressed that the involvement of parents became necessary in school education because only they have regular access to children and can directly engage with them during this period.

The students who participated in the study expressed that they missed many school activities, including meeting friends, interacting with people, celebrations, and friendships. Some of the participants also expressed that they are overloaded with academic exercises, according to the survey.

Teachers also shared their challenges of keeping up with online teaching schedules and fulfilling their responsibilities at home.

The survey concluded that for a successful transition to the online mode, some things are necessary -- accessibility and affordability of digital platforms, need-based curriculum and pedagogy, and sufficient capacity building of the learning community.

"The pandemic shifting of those necessities still poses a major challenge to online learning," it said.