Schooling during COVID-19 pandemic: challenges, opportunities and way forward for the Government Primary Schools of Dhaka

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed a huge challenge to the education system of Bangladesh. Five Government Primary Schools (GPS) of Dhaka were selected as the research site of this study to inquire about current schooling approaches taken by the teachers and students of those schools along with associated challenges and their perception on the way forward of schooling. Government announced a nationwide lockdown from March 16th onwards, forcing teachers and students to adapt to a new way of learning. Teachers started delivering contents through various application like IMO, WhatsApp or Zoom from their homes but student engagement was minimal due to lack of access to resources, financial constraints, digital illiteracy, migration and lack of motivation. Despite the challenges, teachers and students expressed that modernized training on digital literacy, targeted regular communication and differentiated feedback from teachers can enable a school to continue its function even amidst this deadly pandemic. Finally, this viewpoint suggests recommendation to repair the damage of students‘ learning trajectories for future.