Impact of COVID-19 on the Online Learning Experiences of High School Students in Pakistan

BSTRACT: The spread of COVID-19 forced educational institutions around the globe to go online. In March 2020, Pakistan also went under strict lockdown, forcing schools to go online. Though the students, teachers and the parents, as well, braved this situation but there has always been a state of uncertainty in their minds. The students had an unknown fear for their learnings as they were not sure what the future holds for them. This research paper will be focusing problems; high school students faced during the online education process. Pakistan being a developing country, with limited technological resources, online learning was a challenge not only for the students and teachers but also for the parents as well. The ambiguity had left the students in continuous fear. In this phenomenological study, semi-structured interviews with open ended questions were conducted with five students from three different schools to share their experience of online learning. The findings of the research revealed that going online is inevitable under the given circumstances but it cannot replace face-to-face learning.

KEYWORDS: COVID-19, Face to Face learning, High School Student, Online learning