Theme:

COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the

rise of E-learning. This situation led
to debates on
whether e-learning is a good
alternative to classroom learning.
Pros of E-learning:
• Due to COVID-19 pandemic, students are not able to attend schools and
colleges. Even in this situation, they didn’t stop learning. This was
possible due to the e-learning option.

• A few girl children and differently-abled children are not attending

schools/colleges due to lack of facilities there. E-learning is a boon for
them.

• E-learning gives flexibility. Even if we miss any class, we can listen to it

later.

• Students can repeat the lesson many times if they didn’t understand the
concepts.
Challenges of E-learning:

• In the classroom, students will not only learn the subject but
also interacts with other students and thereby make friends.
Classroom influences the overall personality development of
students. With e-learning, students will be deprived of this
opportunity.
• As students have to look at screens continuously, it can strain
their eyes. With e-learning, teachers may not be able to focus
on all the students, which will be possible in the classroom.
Teachers may not also understand whether students could
grasp the concept or not.
• The classroom environment is lively in nature, whereas
sitting in front of a computer or smartphone to listen to the
• Even in this 21st century, some people do not have internet facility. So, e-
learning deepens the inequality between rich and poor.

• E-learning may not create as much seriousness as classroom learning. So,

students may not be motivated enough to listen to the class. Not all parents
are technologically educated to help their children in case of any issues.

• If the device has other apps such as youtube, students may become
distracted. Several students are already suffering from smartphone
addiction. So, parents may not feel safe to leave the children unsupervised.
Syrian crisis
What's happening in Syria?
• The war in Syria has gone on for five years (March 2016) and claimed the lives of more than a quarter of a
million people.

• A partial ceasefire backed by the US and Russia was announced in February 2016.

• Russia had been involved in the fighting but decided to withdrawmost of its forces and aircraft on 14 March.

• The country had been supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces with air strikes since September
2015.

• Peace talks in Genevabegan on Monday 14 March.

• People are hoping the talks will help the war to come to an end.
 History of the conflict
• The violence in Syria began in March 2011 and the middle eastern country has been crippled by a brutal civil war ever
since.

• Since then, the United Nations estimates more than 250,000 people have died in the clashes between President
Bashar al-Assad's government and rebel forces who want him out.

• The UN's Refugee Agency says more than four million people have fled Syria to neighbouring countries, andover half of
those are children.

• Many of the refugeesare among the tens of thousands who have been arriving in Europe, trying to reach countries like
Britain and Germany..

• In July 2012, the International Red Cross said the violence in Syria had become so widespread that it was in a state of
civil war.

• But what are the reasons behind the violence? And what is being done to stop it getting any worse?
• The Syrian Civil War started in March 2011. The demonstrations were
similar to the demonstrations in other Arab countries. The citizens of Syria
wanted their President BasharAl-Asad to resign, as his family has held the
leadership of Syria since 1971.
• The Syrians now wanted a perfectly democratic government in their country.
After some days, when the demonstrations didn’t stop, President, Bashar-Al-
Asad asked the Syrian army to open fire on
the peaceful protesters. And from this point onwards it became an armed
rebellion
• But that civil war has now turned into a conflict of global dimensions playing
out in Syria.
How did it all start?
• The trouble began in 2011 in the Syrian city of Deraa.

• Locals took to the streets to protest after 15 schoolchildren were arrested - and reportedly tortured - for writing
anti-government graffiti on a wall.

• The protests were peaceful to begin with, calling for the release of the children, democracy and greater freedom
for people in the country.

• The government responded angrily, and on 18 March 2011, the army opened fire on protesters, killing four
people.

• The following day, they shot at mourners at the victims' funerals, killing another person.

• People were shocked and angry at what had happened and soon the unrest spread to other parts of the country.
What do the protesters want and what have
they got?
• At first the protesters just wanted democracy and greater freedom.

• But once government forces opened fire on peaceful demonstrations, people demanded that
the President, Bashar al-Assad, resign.

• President Assad refused to step down.

• As the violence worsened he offered to change some things about the way the country was
run, but the protesters didn't believe him.

• President Assad also has quite a lot of people in Syria that still support him and his
government.
Who are the rebel fighters?
• There isn't a clear single group of rebels, united against President
Assad.

• The opposition, who all want the president to step down, is split
between groups of rebel fighters, political parties and people living in
exile, who cannot return to the country.

• It's thought there could have been as many as 1,000 groups opposing
the government since the conflict began, with an estimated 100,000
fighters.
 The Rise of IS
• The war is now more than just a battle between those for or against President Assad.

• In early 2014,in neighbouring Iraq, an extremist group called Islamic State, or IS, began to take over large areas of the country.

• IS is a radical militant group which has used violence against anyone who doesn't agree with their extremist views.

• They have also persecuted other groups, including Christians and Yazidis.

• IS later moved into eastern Syria and in the chaos of war they were able to gain land and power there too.

• To try and stop IS,in September 2014 the US, UK and other countries joined forces, using planes to attack their fighters on the
ground in Iraq.

• Who are IS? And should the UK bomb in Syria?

• On Wednesday December 2, 2015, MPs voted in favour of military action in Syria against IS.

• The first airstrikes were carried outRAF Tornado jets within hours of the vote in the House of Commons.
 Chemical weapons
• Chemical weapons have been used during the war, causing anger around the world.

• Joe explains why chemical weapons are considered so unacceptable (August 2013)

• InAugust 2013, a chemical attack just outside the Syrian capital, Damascus, caused a strong reaction from many countries including
America, Britain and France.

• After the effects of these weapons were seen, there were long discussions over what the rest of the world should do.

• In September 2013, United Nations inspectors confirmed thatchemical weapons had been used in Syria, but the report did not say
who was responsible.

• Syria, however, denies using chemical weapons,which are banned under international law because the effects of their use are so
horrific.

• The government in Syria said: "There is no country in the world that uses a weapon of ultimate destruction against its own
people."

• They blamed the rebel forces for the chemical attack.

 Destruction of chemical weapons
Why are western countries wary of getting involved?
• "I think the real reason why Britain and other countries like America haven't got involved so far is that they don't want to
upset the Russians.

• "The British and American governments are saying: 'OK we care about what's happening in Syria - but are we prepared to go
to war with Russia over this? No.'"

• The chemical attack caused international outrage and many leaders argued it demanded a strong response.

• ButMPs in Westminster voted against Britain being involved in military actionin Syria.

• The American and French governments discussed limited missile strikes against military targets in Syria.

• But Russia has strong ties with President Assad's Syrian government and has helped Syria in the past by supplying weapons.

• In September 2013 Russia suggested a solution that could avoid a wider conflict: thatthe Syrian government should give up
its chemical weaponsand commit to destroying them so they can never again be used.

• The process of destroying the weapons began in October 2013, and the people working on this projectwere awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize later that month.
 Impact on Syrian people
• Millions have fled the conflict, but nearly 18 million people still live in the war-torn country.

• Everyone in Syria will have known people who have died ⠀” but the exact number of those who are gone
may never be known.

• More than 6 million people who are still in Syria have been forced to flee their homes to look for somewhere
safer to live.

• The UN says 13.5 million people are in need of urgent help because of the war.

• Life goes on as normal in many parts of the capital, Damascus, but elsewhere millions struggle to get by.

• Many of those that remain have run away from the cities to seek safety in the countryside.

• More than 40% of children are unable to go to school because there are fewer teachers and lots of school
buildings have been damaged in the fighting.
 The refugee crisis
• Many ordinary Syrian people have been caught up in the violence
during the war and have been forced to leave their homes to escape to
safety in other countries.
• Leah reports on why it's so hard to sort out Syria's problems (June
2013)
• Every day refugees stream across the borders of Syria into the
neighbouring nations of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq.
• More than 4 million people have fled Syria since the start of the
conflict, most of them women and children. It is one of the largest
refugee movements in recent history.
• A further 8 million people, 50% of them children, have had to leave
their homes within Syria.
• They are in desperate need of help. But aid agencies say that getting
aid to people inside Syria is very difficult and dangerous.
• Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have now fled the country and
refugee camps in neighbouring countries to come to Europe.
• The journey they make across land and sea is often very dangerous.
• Some countries in Europe have said they will accept refugeeswho
want to start a new life here.
• Germany says they can take up to 500,000 refugees a year,Prime
Minister David Cameron saysthe UK will accept up to 20,000 people
direct from Syrian refugee campsby 2020.
• France has pledged to take in 24,000 people.
Who all are involved presently?
• Government of Syria
• Russia
• Iran
• Turkey
• USA
• Israel
• Jayash Al Islam, Ahrar Al Sham etc. (The Syrian rebel groups)
• The Kurds
• The ISIS
 How did so many parties get involved in this?
• Russia: President Asad is Russia’s closest ally in the middle east. If he fell, Russia will
lose its foothold in that region. It may also lose Tartus, Russia’s port in Syria on the
Mediterranean Sea.
Iran: It is a very close friend of Syria. But the main reason is to counter the influence
of Saudi Arabia in that region.
The Kurds: These people do not have a place for themselves. They were fighting for a
region, north of Syria called Rojava, and took its control. Their main fight has always
been for autonomy and against the ISIS. They are armed and allied with the USA.
Jayash Al Islam, Ahrar Al Sham etc. (The rebel groups): They have taken up arms
against the Asad regime after the Syrian army got involved. They are people who were
with the army, civilians and some professionals too. Their main aim is to remove
Bashar Al Asad.
ISIS: It is a brutal, violent terrorist group. It held large regions of Iran and Syria.
However, it has been kicked out from most of the region by the Kurdish fighters,
Iranian and Syrian army and the US army.
• USA: On various occasions, the USA has spoken that Bashar Al Asad should leave
but
it has done little to make it happen. Maybe, because it feared that ISIS would replace
him. The USA supplied the Kurdish fighters with arms and fought alongside them
against the ISIS.
Turkey: One of its main roles has been giving shelter to the fleeing Syrians. It
supported the rebel groups too. Turkey fears Kurdish autonomy in Syria as it fears it
would fuel separatism in Turkey and has been in war with the Kurdish fighters
claiming them to be terrorists. Since the Kurdish fighters are allied with the USA,
Turkey is now working closely with Russia.
Israel: It is fighting in the South. Its main concern is the rise of the Iranian influence
and its militia group, Hezbollah. Both the countries are an antithesis to each other.
 What happens next?
• It doesn't look like the fighting is likely to end any time soon.
• There is a stalemate between the two sides: the government forces and the rebel groups are unable
to defeat each other.
• Leah reports as the Syrian child refugee crisis reaches one million (August 2013)
• In December 2013, the US and Britain stopped all 'non-lethal' supplies to the Syrian rebel groups too.
Non-lethal supplies means things like medicine, vehicles and communication equipment.
• Both the Syrian government and rebel groups are now also having to fight back against the terrorist
group Islamic State,
• Caught in the middle of these wars, the Syrian people have lost their homes and members of their
family. Many are living in makeshift camps.
• Child refugees miss out on school (February 2016)
• Lots of countries are continuing to supply aid, such as food and emergency supplies, but the US and
Britain said they had to stop all other support as they feared the equipment may be stolen by rebel
groups, which they did not support.
• For now, discussions continue between powerful nations like the US, Russia, Britain and France, to
try to work out if there is another way to help Syria achieve peace.
Some pictures from Syria before war & after war