Although there are so many ways in which we have all been individually and collectively affected by Covid-19, we cannot fail to acknowledge the massive impact it has had on students from all over the world. It is not just in the United States that students are being affected by the virus, it’s all over the world. Many schools have had to switch to remote learning. Therefore, students have lost their major form of social interactions, are more emotionally distressed, unmotivated, and less productive. In short, every student whether young or old has had some part of their educational life impacted by the virus.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “During voluntary school closure in Japan this past spring, disadvantaged student populations struggled to receive food and other social services.” As seen here, after a lot of schools closed during the pandemic, a ton of students have not been able to get food and many other social services, such as school guidance counselors. A lot of students depend on the school for their meals, but due to the virus, now, many students are struggling to even eat. In addition, they are struggling with their emotional health. This truly shows one very big impact of the virus on students. Also, a lot of lower-income students have had a really hard time with school closure and remote learning this new school year. According to Mckinsey.com, “Lower-income students are less likely to have access to high-quality remote learning or to a conducive learning environment, such as a quiet space with minimal distractions, devices they do not need to share, high-speed internet, and parental academic supervision.” We all know that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of schools have had to close down for safety measures. According to PBS NewsHour, in the United States, more than 51% of students in public schools are low-income students. Now, due to this virus, they are finding it difficult to learn, because the majority of them don’t have access to a lot of resources, like technology devices, and a conducive learning environment. This virus has really severed the quality of education most students are getting, and thus, students aren’t learning enough due to lack of support. Students find it much harder to pay attention and truly focus in class. In reality, due to COVID-19, so many students are not getting the quality education they deserve.

According to Human Rights Watch, “Many children in Africa received no education after schools closed across the continent in March 2020.” Most countries in Africa already lack the basic education necessities for their students, while some countries have a very high poverty rate. All of these issues, and then adding Covid-19, leads to students being even more affected in their education. In a lot of African countries, many students and parents have reported that many schools did not provide them with the necessary resources for remote learning; too many students have no devices, many have no internet, and don’t live in a good housing environment. These students have had their education snatched away from them because of the pandemic. Also, according to Human Rights Watch, “Students frequently studied fewer topics or less content through distance learning.” Through remote learning or distance learning, passing information from teachers to students and vice versa has been very difficult, because a lot of people don’t even know how to access these technology devices. Students are not able to learn as much as they would have if they were physically in school. 

Due to students not being able to learn as much as they used to, graduation rates are also dropping very fast for high school and college degrees. According to Study.Eu, “ Exams and thesis defences may be postponed or held in different formats, which may delay the award of degrees.” From here it is seen that exams are being postponed, as well as many other very important exams needed for students to graduate. Due to this, a lot of students are losing their motivation to study or even do their work, which is why graduation rates are dropping. Students are being held back from graduating and this can be very frustrating to a lot of students, because they have worked so hard. Students’ yearning for education is dropping really fast, because the quality of education they are getting now is so bad. Students are literally being delayed from moving on with their education. This alone is one of the biggest impacts of COVID-19 on students.

These are just some impacts of COVID-19 on students. Students are really being affected in different ways, because they are new to this way of learning, this “new normal.” A lot of students from all over the world just cannot wait for the virus to be gone, so that they can get back to getting that quality education which every student deserves.