US President Donald Trump announced new measures on Friday and said that he will be waiving off the interest on student loans held by federal agencies in order to reduce the burden on students. Several universities and colleges have switched to online classes and have increased the duration of spring break to avoid the risk of contracting COVID-19.
Donald Trump also declared a national emergency and said that $50 million federal reserves will be freed to combat COVID-19. The White House refused to take responsibility for the incompetence in the early stages of the outbreak in the US.
Health experts have said that there were missteps in the Trump administration's efforts that have led to the aggravation of the outbreak. The President and his team refused to take responsibility and began blaming the previous administration.
University closures and Spring Breaks
Students in universities and colleges have raised concerns about leaving campuses due to personal reasons. There have been a large number of schools in the US cancelling in-person classes and asking the students to leave the campus to reduce the risk of the Covid-19.
The announcements about universities and colleges shutting down have affected the students in several ways. There are students who can't afford the travel back home and there are students who are not invited back home. This has also been a major challenge that the student body raised while the universities switched to online classes. Most of the universities and colleges have been showing flexibility in taking care of the student's needs.
According to a Department of Education spokesperson, the new policy will waive off the interest from the loans through federal agencies for the time being. The department is unsure till when the policy will be in action. The policy is said to go into effect from next week onwards. Trump announced several new initiatives that would impact federal agencies. The US is also purchasing crude oil for the strategic reserves.
Educational closures not just in the US
Education is also one of the most important areas that have been affected due to Covid-19 pandemic. The outbreak has forced several countries to put precautionary measures in place.
In the US, several major universities and community colleges have shut down. School closures continue in several states and the definite date of reopening has not been announced. On a similar note, China and other Asian countries had also taken similar steps to protect the youngsters from the spread of the infection.
Shifting to online classes is one of the most important steps taken by schools to reduce the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on education. Taking similar precautionary steps, schools and other institutions in India have been ordered shut in a bid to reduce the possibility of an outbreak in the country.
