The impact of covid-19 on secondary level education: special reference to Nasriya Central College – Chilaw Division, Puttalam District

Abstract

The role of education is vital, not only as an individual right but also as a key fact in social and national development. Currently, the lifestyles of people and the behavior of society completely depend on the COVID-19 pandemic. The main objective of this research is to identify the impact of COVID-19 on secondary level grade six to nine education in Chilaw Nasriya Central College. Identifying the economic background of a family; examining the strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges (SWOC) among secondary students during the pandemic period; and recommending policies for implementing e-learning in the future. Data for the research was collected through the primary and secondary data collection methods. The finding of this study is that the strength of interest can be seen in continued school attendance after reopening school (4.78). Weaknesses as challenges are presented in facing the (term) examination (4.40) after the school reopens. An opportunity to revise their previous lessons. Challenges: the highest mean value among other factors (4.93), students faced subject-related difficulties during access to the online education method. Students failed to obtain better clarification on subjects. Furthermore, 71.5% of students’ families lost their jobs and faced economic challenges during the lockdown and curfew period. Further analyses of the relationship between SWOC factors (internal-external and cross association) through the chi-squared test. This study's recommendation introduces smart classrooms to every grade, allows students to aggregate knowledge related to online learning methods, provides adequate knowledge of accessing electronic devices for educational purposes, and distributes electronic devices for educational purposes.