1.

0 Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Background

1.1.1 History of Covid-19

By the end of December 2019, there was a massive outbreak of the coronavirus in the Wuhan
City of China’s Hubei province (World Health Organization, 2020). Novel coronavirus as
initially named by the World Health Organization (WHO), or simply COVID-19 as it came
to be known, is a disease which resulted from a virus called severe acute respiratory
syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021).
In the beginning, many people began to have serious breathing problems, other respiratory
diseases, fever and lose taste. Symptoms varied and sometimes it did not show in some
people. However, initially, some common symptoms were similar to pneumonia symptoms
like dry cough, chest pain and so on (Intensive Care Medicine [ICM] Anaesthesia COVID-
19, n.d.). WHO was first notified on December 31, 2019. Although initially it was an
epidemic, WHO labeled the COVID-19 outbreak as a worldwide health emergency on
January 30, 2020 and eventually, after the rapid spread of this illness across the world, it was
declared a global pandemic on March 11, 2020 (Cennimo et al., 2022). Subsequently,
everything around the world came to a halt and a lockdown was announced due to the
seriousness of the issue.

In Bangladesh, the first case of the contagious disease was diagnosed on March 8 (Sakib,
2020). According to Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR)
director, Prof. Meerjady Sabrina Flora, three people got infected and became hospitalized.
Naturally, lockdown was soon announced from March 26 to April 4 (Kamruzzaman & Sakib,
2020). This further extended with the increasing number of deaths. Hence, all activities were
stopped as a result of the complete shutdown.

1.1.2 Education after Covid-19

One of the most serious impacts of this lockdown due to Covid-19 was on education. All
educational institutions closed down on March 17. Around 37 million children in
Bangladesh, got affected by this closure, because their education was halted for an unknown
amount of time (UNICEF, 2021). On top of that, there are approximately four million
students at tertiary level, studying in over 5000 tertiary educational institutions including
public and private universities, affiliated colleges, and professional institutions, whose
education had been disrupted due to the lockdown (Ahmed, 2020). This is because, initially,
there were no classes and students just stayed at home. But after some time, a few
universities, particularly the private ones, started conducting online classes on different
platforms to reduce the adverse effect. However, not every household has access to these
online resources as internet connection is still unstable in many places and most importantly,
electricity supplies are also not uniform across the country. Furthermore, not all universities
are well-equipped to opt for online education due to poor networks and other technical issues
(Ahmed, 2020).

Among the 46 public universities in the country, only Shahjalal University of Science and
Technology (SUST) arranged online classes for their students (Ahmed, 2020). As a result,
many public university students faced an extensive educational gap. On the other hand, only
a handful of institutions from around 90 functional private universities took advantage of the
digital platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, etc. to take classes (Ahmed, 2020). Regardless,
the shift from offline to online classes took some time, which caused a delay for both public
and private university students.

1.2 Objectives
The research was based on the following primary objective:
 To investigate how COVID-19 has changed the face of education, specifically for
university students in Bangladesh.

The research also had the following secondary objectives:

 To compare the performance and mental health of students before and after COVID-
19 hit the world.
 To observe the good and bad sides of online education.
 To understand the students’ perspective towards online education.
1.3 Scopes
To begin with, the study focuses on the challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak and
how to overcome them using modern technology. In other words, it gives an idea about how
the students can benefit from online education.

Next, the report can also help teachers to understand the problems students face during online
classes. After the students’ feedback, they can establish teaching methods convenient and
best for everyone.

Lastly, online education is a pathway for a digital world and digital education. So after
examining the pros and cons, the government can work on ways, so that they can make it
viable to provide online education to students who are unable to attend classes in person.

1.4 Research Methodology

1.4.1 Survey
This report has been made from a data survey of students studying at university. A google
form survey containing a set of questions were used which made it easier for respondents to
fill out the form. Furthermore, their identity was kept confidential so they were comfortable
sharing their personal information and experiences. Also, the approach was mixed,
containing both qualitative and quantitative questions. The survey focused on university
students from all over the country. There were 61 responses in total, consisting of 23 males
and 37 females.

1.4.2 Existing Data

The report also used materials from newspaper articles, reliable reports, research papers and
books. Some of the data about the initial and current situation of the country were taken from
renowned and suitable organization’s websites e.g. UNICEF, WHO, etc.

1.5 Limitations
  Due to the current Covid-19 situation, no interviews were taken, only a google form
survey was carried out.
 There were total a sample of 60 respondents for the study, which is quite less to give
an actual representation of the entire population accurately.
 Too much time taken to take responses from respondents, thus less time was given to
complete the report.

1.6 Chapterization
There are altogether four chapters in this report. In the first chapter there is the introduction
which consists of background, objectives, scope, research methodology, limitations and
chapterization. Then there is the findings and analysis of the report in the second chapter.
This chapter is again divided into six parts, namely, Information about target audience,
subdivided into Gender, Age Range, and University type; Online class facility during Covid-
19; Mental health condition comparison before and during Covid-19 sectioned into Mental
health condition before Covid-19 pandemic, and Mental health condition during Covid-19
pandemic; Academic performance  comparison before and during Covid-19, which is further
divided into subparts –Academic performance before Covid-19 pandemic, and Academic
performance after Covid-19 pandemic; Online education quality during Covid-19 pandemic;
and lastly, Financial difficulties of family during Covid-19. Next chapter is the conclusion,
followed by the recommendations in the fourth and final chapter.

References

 World Health Organization [WHO] (2020). Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Situation

 (Report No. 1). WHO. https://www.who.int/docs/default-
source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200121-sitrep-1-2019-ncov.pdf?
sfvrsn=20a99c10_4 

 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, November 4). Basics of COVID-19.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/about-covid-19/basics-
covid-19.html

 ICM Anaesthesia COVID-19. (n.d.). Background to Coronavirus (COVID-19).

https://icmanaesthesiacovid-19.org/background

 Cennimo, D. J., Bergman, S. J., & Olsen, K. M. (2022, January 4). Coronavirus Disease
2019 (COVID-19). Medscape. https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/2500114-
overview

 Sakib, N. S. M. (2020, March 8). Bangladesh confirms first case of coronavirus.

Anadolu
Agency. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/bangladesh-confirms-first-case-of-
coronavirus-/1758924

 Kamruzzaman, M., & Sakib, N. S. M. (2020, March 25). Bangladesh imposes total
lockdown over COVID-19. Anadolu Agency. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-
pacific/bangladesh-imposes-total-lockdown-over-covid-19/1778272

 Unicef for every child. (2021, October 19). The future of 37 million children in
Bangladesh
 is at risk with their education severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
https://www.unicef.org/bangladesh/en/press-releases/future-37-million-children-
bangladesh-risk-their-education-severely-affected-covid

 Ahmed, M. (2020, April 28). Tertiary education during Covid-19 and beyond. The Daily
Star. https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/news/tertiary-education-during-covid-
19-and-beyond-1897321