‘Online classes causing stress, impacting health of students’

Lucknow: Over 55% students from classes IV to XII in various schools of the city and state experienced some health issues due to the prolonged online classes during the pandemic.

The health concerns mainly included stress, eyesight troubles and insomnia.

These are some of the major findings of the study — ‘The Impact of Online Teaching during the Pandemic on Learning and Well-being’ — conducted by class IX-XII students of Lucknow-based Spring Dale College (SDC) chain of schools.

The report of the study released on the eve of the death anniversary of SDC founder B S Sood, observed as ‘Awareness Day’ on July 25, is based on a survey, including group discussion, of 4,454 respondents — 3,300 students, 1,000 parents and 154 teachers — of various schools.

The respondents were queried about the problems and benefits of online classes. In the study, 54-58% students reported issues like experiencing severe physical strain, eyesight troubles, backache and headache due to postural problems, lethargy, fatigue, irritability and obesity. Nearly 50% complained of stress and 22.7% of insomnia with about 65% students cited technical glitches, network problem, difficulty in concentrating while studying through mobile phone as main reasons for these. About 46-47% students had problem in interacting with teachers and classmates and said not all people are seen on screen at a time.

Students complained of loss in confidence and low motivation.

Kids, teachers more tech savvy now: There were some positive outcomes also due to online teaching that helped in continuing education despite lockdown. For instance, both students and teachers have become tech savvy. Over 60% of students said they got additional leisure time which they used in gardening, art and craft. Around 65% of students said spending more time at home strengthened family bonding.