A Descriptive Study on the Effect of COVID-19 on Students’ Lives

Abstract

The pandemic of COVID-19 triggered the unprecedented global transition of education, compelling the sudden implementation of online learning models and inflicting widespread social restrictions. This cross-sectional study was carried out through a Google Survey to examine the impact of this disruption on students' academic performance and mental health (N=158) who were, for the most part, at the postgraduate level. The main data showed that there was a large negative impact on students, with 72.0% indicating that their academic performance worsened. Also, 80.2% of the participants said that there was a negative effect on their mental health (22.9% of whom called it severe). The main challenges reported were an inability to focus, challenges with the effectiveness of online classes, and strong social isolation (identified by 78.4% of the participants). These results are extremely consistent with international secondary data, which has shown elevated prevalence of stress, anxiety, and pervasive learning loss across higher education institutions during the pandemic. The study concludes that the pandemic necessitated immediate support for students in the areas of mental health and pedagogical adaptation.