ABSTRACT
When the initial outbreak of COVID-19 was being reported in the country, the Indian state opted for a nation-wide lockdown. This event and subsequent decision led to a standstill of an entire nation. Immediate necessity arose of blending the traditional teaching pedagogy with a virtual/web-based educational model, a transition that was immediate and difficult to cope even for many high-income nations of the world. In India teachers were unprepared/untrained to transition over to web-based learning, parents found it difficult to manage classes/work on phones, tablets, and laptops. The teaching staffs were overburdened with management of online classes and their multiple roles demanded by state in vaccination duties or elections. Despite the challenges using technology to bridge the gap of inclusive education was a challenge for Indian education system.
The present chapter will focus on discourse analysis of such problems reported in national media to derive a generalized overview of the problems faced by the stakeholders in the education system during the COVID pandemic with special focus on problems faced by children. Also, the study will undertake phenomenological course to include students and teachers who are parents themselves and will attempt to present a thematic expression of experiences shared by these stakeholders using narrative method. The respondents are living at Himachal Pradesh and associated with different systems of education falling under different boards of education.
