Across the world, we are faced with a single challenge of the pandemic and it is for the first time the modern world is faced with one common challenge. Besides COVID being a health emergency, it’s side effect is infinite and it is high time we wake up to the reality of devastating effect it will cause, be it health, economy, mental well being and future uncertainties.

Everyone has to change, readjust and reevolve with the demand of nature. Our work culture, our lifestyle and our means of existence will change over the next decade. As we all know change does not take place in a day as ‘Rome was not built in a day’. Similarly, we shall see a substantial amount of change in the next decade hereby redefining our goals.

In this changing time, the role of a teacher will play a vital and crucial role, the expectations from them will jump much higher and teachers will now become a role model for many. It is going to be of paramount importance that teachers come out of the cocoon of a standardised syllabus but open up themselves to the vast world of knowledge, as the present day students will look up to them to gather more unanswered questions.

The emotional well being of a student will much depend on their teachers and teachers need to understand that they have to now, more than ever, deal with a students delicate mental state of mind.

With students off the campus, which is going to remain for a substantial amount of time, even though Government across the world is trying to open up the institutions, but if we look into the SOP released by the Union Government of India, we can clearly see that it states a student can opt for both on-campus and online mode of studies and attendance have to be considered by school administrations.

Bonding with a student without a physical closeness will be the biggest challenge for a teacher. The same is equally true for a student to stay attached to a teacher.

In such a scenario, there are issues which were relevant earlier also but was overshadowed have now suddenly become more a priority than a consideration. School administration needs to understand the changing need of a student, now that a teacher has to directly deal with a student’s family atmosphere and the education platform is not anymore homogeneous but a heterogeneous in nature.

Parents who were stable and focussed are suddenly faced with challenges, fear, uncertainties, health issues and in such scenario, the negativity flows down to a child too which in turn affect the group of students that are studying together.The various negative communication be it from the TV, parents, friends and a state of confusion is going to be the biggest challenge for a teacher to retain a students attention to studies.

The sacred bond of a teacher-student relation is at stake due to the distance being created and it is of paramount importance that teachers understand this upheaval difficulty and dilemma they are going to face in days ahead to come.

Time for introspection has come with the upcoming changing time.