It has been almost two complete years since the first effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were seen on schools and students. Schools were one of the first institutions to close immediately in their cause to prevent the spread of the virus. However, pandemic or not, life goes on, and so it was inevitable that online classes would be the way to go.

“We were excited at first,” says Ayushma Chhatkuli, a tenth grader at St. Xavier’s, Jawalakhel, “For us it felt like we were getting an elongated holiday, even though we had to study each day.”

Not having to wake up early in the morning, change into their uniforms in the cold, rush to their bus stops – it does seem a simpler and indeed easier form of schooling for children. However, presently, the tone seems to have changed.

“Things have become boring and monotonous,” she says, and it does not look like she is alone in this. Bibhas Pantha, a classmate of Chhatkuli’s, laments about the same, citing that online classes are just a “regular part of [their] lives now.”

The past two years have been about more than just online classes for students; being confined to their homes, or perhaps even rooms, has definitely not helped them.