According to the survey titled “Kids Under COVID” conducted by SP Robotic Works, an online education company, 78 per cent of Indian parents are unwilling to send their wards to school post lockdown, even if that entails repeating an academic year.

The survey insights uncover the dilemma of parents and children and bring to light the key areas of attention.

Safety of their wards, a topmost priority

The survey report revealed that parents from Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and mini-metros are sceptical about sending their children to school, even if it is declared safe, with 82-86 per cent unwilling to take any risk with the children.

Among the cohort, the salaried guardians are the most protective, with only 17 per cent willing to send their children to school as soon as the schools reopen as against self-employed (30 per cent) and freelance workers (56 per cent).

Parents and students reject online schooling

While most schools have successfully transitioned to online, the model is found to be less effective with over two-third of children prefer to learn in the classroom.

Interestingly, children, as well as the parents in smaller cities and non-metros, seem to prefer online learning compared to those in metros, except Bengaluru.

The era of women entrepreneurship

Amongst the choices for dream jobs, 15 per cent of girls aspire to become entrepreneurs when they grow up, a higher percentage than boys.

Entrepreneurship is second only to the fancy of becoming a doctor. According to a 2015 study by McKinsey Global Institute, India's GDP could rise by between 16-60 per cent by 2025 if women participated equally with men in the economy.

Projections show that this could mean a whopping $2.9 trillion added to the economy.

From the data available, mini-metros and non-metros are more likely to produce entrepreneurs than metros.

Amongst other dream jobs, science and technology continue to dominate the aspirations of young India with 52.5 per cent kids wanting to either be a scientist, technologist, data scientist, or doctors.

The trend of coding and robotics

The survey also mentioned that 23 per cent of parents have engaged their children in an online robotics class during the lockdown period. While 32 per cent have engaged them in an online coding class.

Surprisingly, Mumbai tops the charts with 42 per cent of children being engaged in Robotics/Coding classes while children in tech-hub Bengaluru and Kolkata prefer spending time on traditional favourites such as reading or practising a musical instrument.

The mental health of children

The survey findings underscore the noticeable change in behaviour and habits following the forced lockdown among the school goers.

The sleeping pattern of nearly 50 per cent of the kids has been disturbed, with 13 per cent of children have no regular pattern of sleeping.

Understandably, 67 per cent of parents think that their child’s screen time has gone up by at least 50 per cent during the lockdown, thereby further impacting their concentration levels and leading to sleep disorders.

The fear of pandemic has affected 40 per cent of the children surveyed, causing unaddressed anxiety issues.

Commenting on the impact of Covid-19 lockdown and crisis, Sneha Priya S, Co-Founder & CEO of SP Robotic Works, said in a statement: “Covid has proven to be the turnstile for education in India. The current situation has unearthed the immense potential of platforms with experiential and interactive learning which engage children in practical tasks and logical reasoning.”

She added: “With the proposed NEP in place, we believe that hope is anew for the young minds of the country. The policy rightly stresses the importance of including experiential learning, replacing the existing pedagogy of teaching Math & Science in schools. A policy that SP Robotic Works steadfastly holds on for all our engagements with the children.”

SP Robotic Works conducted the survey in July and August among 3,600 parents and an equal number of children in the age group of 7-17 years.

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