Students took up odd jobs to pay tuition fees during the pandemic, reveals a study

• Image Credit: Internet

• Aug 11, 2022 | Kabir Chakraborty

Further research revealed that 4.4% of respondents to the 2020 survey had to leave school because they couldn't afford it, according to the survey results.

Digital Desk: According to a poll of more than
12,000 students from colleges connected to the University of Mumbai, in
2021–2022 students would have to work part-time jobs in addition to their
studies to cover tuition costs. At least 5% of the students who responded to
the poll said they had to leave school in 2021–2022 because they were unable to
pursue online education owing to a lack of appropriate facilities or a lack of
funds.

The Bombay University and
College Teachers' Union (BUCTU) members conducted a survey between November
2021 and December 2021 with the aim of determining how the pandemic and online
learning affected enrollment in higher education institutions.

In a second poll performed
in 2020, students were asked about their personal and familial situations. In
comparison, we discovered that roughly 5.3% of students had to get jobs during
the lockdown in order to maintain their education and support their families.
Further research revealed that 4.4% of respondents to the 2020 survey had to leave
school because they couldn't afford it, according to the survey results.

Male students made up 57% of
the 12,159 responses, while female students made up 43%. Nearly 32% of
respondents were from the rural districts of Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, and
Palghar. While 48.8% of respondents were from Mumbai, 19% were from Thane.
Approximately 83% of respondents said that their father is the only primary
provider for the family. 9% said that their mother is the primary provider, and
2.7% said that the student was the primary provider.

A report by BUCTU that
examines the state's higher education institutions' enrollment patterns was
just published. While enrolment in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in
the humanities faculty fell by 33.1% and 41%, respectively, in 2020–21, the
science faculty had a decline of 5.1% in UG and 16.9% in PG courses.

 Surprisingly, the business faculty saw
enrolment drop during the pandemic by 11.2% for UG courses and 33.2% for PG
programmes. Classes like law and technology nevertheless managed to recruit
more students despite the outbreak.

According to Madhavi Nikam,
a member of the Academic Council of the University of Mumbai, "Migration
from cities to rural towns, as well as limited access to technology and the
internet, were the two main reasons for dropouts in higher education in
2021–22." She went on to say that adjusting to online lessons,
particularly when one has limited resources, is another significant issue that
discourages students from paying attention to online lectures.