Right to Education in Time of COVID-19: Balancing Rights and Emergency

This essay delves into the complex interplay between the right to education and the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It begins by highlighting the widespread disruption to education systems globally due to school closures and the shift to online learning. The research background explores historical responses to pandemics, including school closures during influenza outbreaks, and examines the effectiveness of such measures in reducing infection rates. The essay further investigates the statement of the problem, emphasizing the negative impacts of school closures on students' mental health, economic conditions, and the quality of education. The rationale of the study discusses the varying perspectives on school closures and the need for more research to determine their benefits accurately. The essay references multiple studies and reports, providing a comprehensive overview of the issues and the need for balancing the right to education with public health measures during a state of emergency.

Right to Education in Time of Covid-19:
Balancing Conflicting Human Rights and State
of Emergency

1.1 Introduction:
According to UNESCO (2020a), more than 1.575 billion students in more than 188
countries around the world are reported to have been affected by the shutting down
of schools and universities. Because of preventive measures are taken by countries
to avoid the spread of COVID-19. During this lockdown period because of isolation,
the usage of technology has been regarded as the most suitable option to uphold the
functionality of educational system in many parts of the world.
The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the most of the sectors such as the economic
sectors, service industries, tourism sector, manufacturing sector, education sector to
name just a few. Pandemic affect the education sector most. To contain disease,
most countries put many restrictions on place during the early 2020 when the
disease broke out. Some of the restrictions put in the place many countries are
enforcement of social distancing rule, suspension of academic activities, and
suspension of air transport to and from COVID-19 hotspots areas and so on.
As a result, during the pandemic, most of the schools, colleges and universities were
shut down and learners at some point denied their right to admittance education
which is one of the elementary rights provided by the constitution. After few months
later, most of the learners are isolated and still at their home and the educational
institutions need to come up with a safer way to reach learners without physical
contact. Therefore, to respond to COVID-19 pandemic blended learning was
launched basis of virtual learning rather than face to face learning. At present, most
of the countries worldwide have allowed a phased reopening of educational
institutions such as universities and colleges. On the other hand, some learners are
still unable to take the benefit of their right to education owing to the issues due to
pandemics (Mahaye, 2020).
1.2 Research Background:
The responses of society to pandemics regardless cultural differences of society,
levels of development of society and the nature and origin of pandemics have been
pretty similar for centuries. The common denominator in all responses are used to
be the home confinement, the closure of work centres, isolation of infected, travel
and mobility restrictions and the obligation of social distancing. To control the
pandemic these are the primary denominator in the absence of effective drug or

vaccine. Since compulsory education become a reality in the Europe and the United
States, the closure or shutdown of educational institutions has been the common
strategy to tackle the pandemics such as typhus outbreaks, Spanish flu in the year
1918 where more than forty million people had died within two years or cholera
pandemics.
In some of the occasions closures are which is more common in nature have been
put in practise because of origination of infections in school centres. On the other
hand, in some occasions proactive closure which is more sporadic in nature have
been put in practise because of safeguarding the spread of infection and
transmission because of forcing breaking the social distancing in the educational
institution.
Nicholas Christakis who is a social scientist and physician at Yale University stated
that, there are two reasons existed behind the proactive closures. The first reason is
to safeguard minors during the time of reducing the risks what could be transmit the
virus without closing schools. Another reason is to safeguard parents or teachers
from virus at the time of mixing with each other when their children or students leave
and enter into educational institutions where they also remain restricted in their
houses (AAAS, 2021).
In the year 1918 and 1919, when all the countries affected by the influenza
pandemic, to avoid contamination of virus, the closure of the educational institutions
are one of the procedures for a longer or shorter time period. The response
strategies to the pandemic including closure of the educational institutions to reduce
infection and death toll were studied by the Markel, et. al., (2003). During that time
the death toll stood at 500000 in the United States specifically in forty three North
American cities due to the flu. In the thirty four cities the common measure
implemented to mitigate the infection was school closures and public gatherings
bans collectively. Within one to ten weeks a significant association can be observed
by this response. The ban applied areas had observed the reductions in excess in
mortality rates. In the Saint Louis, before the peak of the pandemic and for the
following one hundred forty three days schools was closed. By contrary, in the
Pittsburgh school was closed from seven days after the pandemic and for fifty three
days. According to Markel, H.,et. al. (2007), mortality rate in Saint Louis was

approximately one third of Pittsburgh. In Spain, there have been no studies was
conducted before regarding effectiveness of such matter. On the other hand, it is
also true that, all public and most of the private educational was closed in year
1918. In other two major flu pandemics in the past century, there were also localized
and partial closed of schools. One closure occurred in year 1957 with the Asian flu
and another closure occurred in year 1968 with the Hong Kong flu (CDC.gov. 2021).
Regardless of issues in implementation, many benefits have been recognised in the
necessity to alter to online learning among which stands out the prospect for quick
success in digital education field, in other situations it would take years to progress
(UNESCO, 2020b). To become more creative, the alteration to remote learning
format also has been recognised as a good chance for teachers and learners
(UNESCO, 2020b).
In different parts of the world consisting groups engaged in process of education
such as parents, teachers and students impacted by the fear, anxiety and other
issues due to spread of COVID-19 (NCIRD, 2020). Parents distresses apart from
the issues caused by the physical contacting and other personal features are alleged
to have been prejudiced by the reluctances to sustain their dependents in online
learning or distance learning; the insufficient access to internet and technology or the
lack of access to the technological formats utilized for their children with especial
educational requirements (UNESCO, 2020b). Again, it was also need to be noted
that, the issues of teachers engaged in online learning process were associated to
chances to carry out online learning because of their capability of skills and level of
knowledge in the utilisation of technology and access to technology (UNESCO,
2020a). Such issues have been reported by the specific countries where prior to
situations created by anticipatory measures in opposition to the spread of COVID-19,
the usage of technology level by teachers has been declared extremely low in the
classroom. Additionally, the requirement of shifting learning process to online format
have also been stated to have enhanced the distress level of teachers in different
parts worldwide (UNESCO, 2020).

1.3 Statement of the Problem
The children and students with health associated issues such as mental situations
and psychological support are characterized by the society. The closure of
educational institutions impact most of the country’s economic condition negatively
because existing expenses such as operational costs and salaries have been
occurred or will be occurred. Again, the expenditure of mitigating the significances
would also to increase. In the longer time, the revenue of government and less
prioritising of education locally or globally would be suffered because of the closure
of educational institutions (UNICEF, n.d3).Again, low quality of education will be
provided because of non-adequate educational resources. Closures of educational
institutions indicate that, such students not only destitute of the prospective to learn
but also unprotected to different health hazards that can be outcome from a
professional supervision. On the other hand, beyond the medical measures such as
keeping social distancing and closure of educational institutions , what other
measure could be adopted in order to make sure the right to education during the
current pandemic situation of COVID-19. To what extend these decisions that could
be taken care of a more standardized or mixed in nature across the country. This
depends on the context and situations outcome of different scenarios of the impact
of pandemic. Therefore, it is very significant to put necessary measures in place to
solve the issues before it gets severe.
1.4 Rationale of the Study:
The necessity, goodness and relevance of closure of educational institutions during
pandemics are tried to identify the review of medical literature. The outcome of the
review are far from a reaching a position consistently safeguarded by experts.
Different studies observed the advantageous impact of school closures, in the case
of flu epidemics. According to Cauchemez, S., et. al., (2008), it was anticipated a
reduction of cases between 18 percent’s to twenty three percent in children.
Specifically, during the peak time of infections, school closure is very effective to
control the infections among children. On the other hand, there is not much more
evidence in published epidemiological research associated that, what is the most
suitable threshold is for school closure (Jackson, C., et. al., 2013). Other relevant
studies directed that, during the influenza epidemic, the closure of educational
institutions can reduce the maximum infection rates up to forty percent. Although,

the effect of this measure on general infection rates is not very much high in
comparing with measures such as domestic quarantine or segregation of sick
persons (Ferguson, N.M., et. al., 2006).
Although, there is not that much information regarding pharmaceuticals inventions
except the usual ones could be expose as more for diseases such as corona virus
disease of 2019 (COVID-19), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and
Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). To reduce the spread of COVID-19, in
the precise case of school closure, different research have illustrated different
results regarding the impacts of reactive closures during influenza outbreaks.
Because of this reason, more research and studies are required to determine the
benefits of school closure during pandemics more accurately. Park, Y.J.; et. al.,
(2020) suggested that, to guide public health policy, it requires more developing in
epidemiological studies. According to Zhang, J.; et al. (2020) , a contact survey
developed in China which demonstrated that, implementing, social distancing and
school closure hep to reduce the rate COVID-19 infections among school aged
children. Again, a recent report regarding school closure by Liu, J.; et. al., (2020)
from Shenzhen, China, reported that how important school closure to reduce the
rate of COVID-19 infection (Auger, K.A.; et al., 2020).
The impact of school closure to control the COVID-19 pandemic may be low
illustrating only a two to four percent in mortality rate suggested by the other recent
analysis of database for published work on modelling and subject studies (Viner,
R.M.et.al., 2020). At the time of compare to other strategies such as the utilization of
personal protective measures and social distancing, school closure strategy seems
specifically ineffective. Again, Viner, R.M.et.al., (2020), emphasize on social costs
such as such as harming the mental health of students and economic costs such as
family economy. Again, different educational costs such as creating digital divides,
greater impact on less benefitted social groups and different amount of cultural
capital for families also need to be noted. As of today, it is unclear that the benefits
of the measure offset the disadvantage in low resource settings.