Impact of COVID-19 on education system in the world and in Uzbekistan



All over the world people talk about Coronavirus (COVID-19) and take the necessary precautions to protect themselves and their families from Coronavirus. It is important to understand basic information about the disease (COVID-19), including its symptoms, complications, how it is transmitted and how to prevent its further transmission.

Official information about an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown etiology in Wuhan City, the capital of Hubei Province of China, first appeared on December 31, 2019 from the World Health Organization (WHO) center in China.

According to WHO, the mortality rate from coronavirus is 70 times higher than from seasonal influenza, because CoVID-19 causes viral lung damage. Approximately 81 % of people tolerate the disease without serious consequences, 10 % to 14 % will require hospitalization with serious lung inflammation, and about 3 % of cases of infection will end up deadly.

At the same time, each patient with coronavirus infects on average two or three more people. This is due to the fact that the virus spreads both by airborne droplets and through surfaces. Another danger of the virus is the long incubation period. Symptoms begin to appear about two weeks after infection, but the person becomes contagious almost immediately.

According to a recent statement by biostatistician and epidemiologist Ayr Longini, an advisor to the World Health Organization, the new coronavirus may infect two-thirds of the world's population. At the same time, even if the virus's spread rate can be halved, about 30 % of people on the planet are at risk of becoming infected, the scientist said.

The vaccine is planned to be created not earlier than 2021, there are no methods of treatment. WHO's basic recommendations include only advice to wash your hands thoroughly, not to approach people closer than 1 meter, not to touch the face with your hands and at the first symptoms urgently see a doctor.

The outbreak of coronavirus infection has affected billions of people around the planet. According to the latest data (as of September 28), the total number of infected people in the world is 33.3 million, lethal outcomes are 1 million, 24.6 million people have been restored. In Uzbekistan the number of infected is in the region of 56 thousand people, lethal outcomes are 462, 52.4 thousand people have been restored (Worldometers). On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared the Coronavirus a pandemic. In 188 countries of the world it was decided to temporarily close educational institutions in order to curb the spread of the virus. The scale of measures taken is unprecedented and, according to UNESCO, affected 90 % of students in the world — more than 1.5 billion people. Experts believe such measures will slow down the spread of the virus as children can potentially be hidden vectors of the virus.

Closing schools has similar consequences regardless of country, time and culture. First of all, the question arises about the care of children whose parents are working. The simplest solution, in the form of the use of caregivers, may no longer work in light of the risks associated with the spread of the virus.

Universities are closing their dormitories as a result of discontinuation. Consequently, throughout the world we see problems with housing for students who for one reason or another are unable to return home. Part-time students also have work and nutritional problems, as most of the businesses they have worked in are also closed due to quarantine regulations.

Another important problem is ensuring continuity of education. Most countries in the world are switching to distance learning in the form of radio broadcasting, online platforms and broadcasting of lessons through television.

Due to the current situation around the world, there is a growing demand for online education, so far in the short term. Many online platforms provide free education courses for interested people all over the world. Companies such as Scholastic and Coursera, for example, provide young people with online distance learning and have a simple interface. Such initiatives are also supported by international organizations, in particular UNESCO (UNESCO). Above all, the main trump card of online learning is its flexibility, that is, students can combine learning with other things.

Such a turn of events is very likely to be a turning point in the development of the education system. With the increasing frequency of virtual education experiments under threat of a pandemic, consumers may receive a new hybrid product of the education system. We can confidently assume that even after the end of the pandemic, online education will continue to be in great demand, as it is an «uncompetitive good» from an economic point of view, i.e. an additional consumer does not make it less accessible to others. Consequently, the growing technology of online learning may put competitive pressure on the education sector in the form of a «bend in the cost curve of education», i.e. lower prices, and increased productivity.

A day later, after the discovery of the first case of coronavirus infection in Uzbekistan, according to the decision of the Special Republican Commission, from March 16, 2020, preschool, secondary and higher educational institutions were closed for a three-week quarantine. This immediate response, especially in the very early stages of virus spread, is very effective and strongly recommended by international experts. At that moment about 80 thousand students from other regions of the country were studying in Tashkent. In order to return to their place of permanent residence, they were given a 50 % discount on transport services.

In spite of the fact that different types of distance education are being implemented in the republic, high-quality educational process requires interactivity between teacher and students, which is possible only through online classes. In most cases users face a number of common problems — differences in the availability of communication channels, lack of equipment and software, poor quality of telecommunication services.

Within the framework of international cooperation of the Tashkent Medical Academy and partnership of the Academy with foreign medical institutions and the largest universities of the world, the work on attracting leading professors, medical experts and scientists from foreign countries to the educational process of TMA is carried out daily.

In April of this year, TMA representatives participated in 35 different online lectures, video conferences, remote consultations and round tables organized with participation of leading foreign experts in order to improve the quality of medical personnel training and familiarize the TMA faculty with relevant international achievements in the fight against coronavirus infection.

These events were organized by the Administration of the Academy in accordance with the agreement with the management of partner universities and in the framework of international cooperation of TMA, as well as with the assistance of the International Department of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

In the conditions of pandemic the educational process is established on the basis of remote technologies, online lessons are covered by 500 thousand students and 7 million students of more than 10 thousand educational institutions. This new mechanism ensures uninterrupted learning.

References:

1. https://tma.uz/uz/
2. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/