Weekly Briefing, Vol. 46. No. 3 (SK) December 2021
Review of the Most Impactful Events of 2021 Societal Development
Summary
The objective of the text below is to map, summarize and evaluate events that were of the utmost importance for the Slovak society in 2021. Obviously, the overall social life has been significantly influenced by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The current briefing discusses two central topics, in particular the general state of the society with regards to the pandemic, and the educational challenges and the reform of the education system. We suppose, the pandemic will continue to shape the course of our lives for some time also in 2022.
Introduction
The year 2021 is coming to its end. At the end of a year, people tend to look back and evaluate the whole year. Analogically, the goal of the present briefing is to go through the most considerable events concerning Slovak societal development in 2021, and to discuss their significance and possible long-term implications. Unfortunately, we need to accentuate the persistent pandemic and its being the factor determining the state and development of not only the social strata in general, but to some extent everybody’s personal and professional life. Moreover, the pandemic situation has become the No. 1 challenge for the policy makers.
The development of the pandemic has not at all been linear; on the contrary, there have been times when people saw the light at the end of the tunnel, hoping for everything to be over, and also periods of strict lockdowns, restricted movement and closed shops. The mood in the society seems to have copied the lockdown and non-lockdown periods, number of cases and the gravity of the restrictions.
This text will thematically be divided into two chapters. The first part will discuss the overall influence of the pandemic on social activities, as well as the distinct attitudes concerning vaccination. The second part will focus on the challenged education process and also on the education reform. As the objective of the December social briefing is to summarize the most important events of the year, we would like to point out that the topics discussed herein have also been subject to our analysis in separate social briefings published in 2021.
Vaccination, anti-pandemic measures and public protests
As already stated also in our previous Slovakia social briefings, almost everything going on in the society has somehow been intertwined with the current pandemic situation and measures in place. As for societal development this is especially critical since various public events, traditional festivals, or even family gatherings have had to be held in a way considering the seriousness of the pandemic – if they took place at all. Slovaks like to get together, they enjoy lovely food, good music and being surrounded by the family and friends. It is not uncommon for weddings or birthday parties to be organized in a format of dozens of invited, some ceremonies normally exceeding 100 people. As this has been largely challenged, people’s moods were moving from anger, fear, depression, to sorrow… Of course, not only because of this. People have actually gotten tired of the whole pandemic thing.
One would have thought the availability of vaccines will improve people’s state of mind as well as the overall social mood considerably. However, the opposite seems to be true. Vaccination in Slovakia appears to have become a means of political struggle, dividing not only politicians but equally the people. The anti-vaccination campaigns and rhetoric are present all around; the scientists and experts have become a subject to disrespect and distrust by certain members of the society. Protests have been held to demonstrate one’s disapproval with vaccination, regular testing and anti-pandemic measures as such. The nationwide level of vaccination has not reached the percentage necessary for the collective immunity yet, even though in some regions the situation is unproportionally better than in others. Several days before Christmas, more than 2.53 million people have been fully vaccinated in Slovakia,[1] which amounts to not even 50% of the total population.
Nevertheless, vaccination against certain diseases has been compulsory for decades, which makes us wonder why there is such scepticism regarding the vaccination against COVID-19. Considering the fact this is a pandemic that we are all personally experiencing, and not something mentioned in a history lesson we cannot relate to. Yes, in comparison to some other countries (including several European Union Member States), Slovakia may come across as a well-vaccinated country, but in fact we are lagging behind significantly.
The policy makers have already taken several measures aimed at increasing people’s motivation to get vaccinated. Except for the usual campaign, a lottery was organized with the hope that the chance to win the reward would make people make up their minds and get their vaccine shot, as only the vaccinated could have registered for it. From its beginning, the whole lottery idea was accompanied by controversies and diverse attitudes, questioning its potential impact on the vaccination rate and pace. For this or other reasons, many of those eligible – meaning vaccinated – decided not to register for the lottery at all. The lottery was broadcasted for several weeks as a life event on television. And as nothing ever goes according to a plan, several unpleasant or embarrassing moments occurred during the life streams, such as technical problems. An example is the case of a woman whose ticket was picked up and she also answered the phone – half of the success. However, everybody dialled had to also utter the password displayed. This woman was unfortunately not able to say the password within the time limit due to slow Internet, hence losing a fortune. As this was truly bad luck, the finance minister and the organizers decided to revisit it, which resulted also in some changes of the lottery rules.
Apart from the lottery, the latest attempt to influence people’s opinions on vaccination is a sort of reward for getting vaccinated for the elderly. Similarly, also this has some flaws as well as critics.
Reform of the education system and impacts of the pandemic on education process
Based on our observations, education has been one of the topics mostly discussed with regards to the pandemic.
Whether schools were opened or not has changed several times. This, however, concerns mostly primary and secondary schools. As for universities, some of them switched to online learning already at the beginning of the pandemic, i.e. spring term 2020, and have not reinstated the in-person learning so far. One of the pupils’ comebacks to schools happened in April 2021, after having spent several months learning from at home, although it did not concern all pupils and education levels. Further groups of pupils returned to schools a week after.[2]
The students’ opinions about what is currently better – in-person or online learning – differ considerably. On the one hand, a group of students is missing socialising with their peers, lively discussions with the teachers, and the whole concept of student life. On the other hand, there are students who are in favour of online learning, using the safety and social distancing argument. Furthermore, some are simply enjoying staying at home with their families, or saving money otherwise used for commuting and accommodation. As for teachers, most of them seem to be recognizing both the advantages and drawbacks of the distance learning, too.
A former ice hockey player and current manager of an ice hockey school asserted that it is not possible to compensate for the losses done on children. He went on to say that priorities should be defined, and children should always be the last ones when some facilities are closing due to lockdowns, and the first ones to enjoy opening afterwards.[3]
What we perceive as a positive side effect of distance learning is its impact on digital skills. For many – students as well as teachers – the initiation of online learning meant the first contact with some of the platforms used for this purpose. Eventually, most of those “learning by doing” have mastered and get accustomed to teaching and learning in virtual form, hence increasing their digital skills.
The necessity of switching to online learning has, however, also illuminated several unpleasant realities, such as income gaps and living conditions of a part of Slovak population. Some families had to face not only the issue of insufficient working space, but also lack of technological devices or no access to the Internet. While some Slovak families are well off, able to provide every family member with a laptop and further things needed for adequate online learning process, there are families without possession of a computer. Generally, we could say, this is partially linked to regional development and employment within the individual administrative units of the country.
In relation to digital skills and digitalisation, we should mention the education reform, which, besides other topics, aims to foster digitalisation in the Slovak education system. In addition to that, the reform focuses on enhancing inclusion education, critical thinking, environmental awareness, and practical applications of studied topics.[4]
Conclusion
The present Slovakia social briefing focused on the events of paramount importance for the Slovak societal development in the year 2021. As all of the areas of our lives are still being impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, also the topics included in this text are debated in relation to it. The briefing was oriented on two central issues, namely the pandemic and its societal influences, and the education and its reform.
Sources
- Čiefová, M. (2021): Slovakia social briefing: Children Back in School and (Un)Traditional Easter. In Weekly Briefing. Accessed on 21 December 2021. Available at: https://china-cee.eu/2021/04/26/slovakia-social-briefing-children-back-in-school-and-untraditional-easter/.
- HNonline (2021): Gröhling ohlásil spustenie reformy školstva. Parlament schválil prvé zákony. Accessed on 21 December 2021. Available at: https://slovensko.hnonline.sk/11466823-grohling-ohlasil-spustenie-reformy-skolstva-parlament-schvalil-prve-zakony.
- gov (2021): Koronavírus a Slovensko. Accessed on 21 December 2021. Available at: https://korona.gov.sk.
- SME (2021): Handzuš: Straty, ktoré robíme deťom, sú devastačné. Accessed on 21 December 2021. Available at: https://video.sme.sk/c/22807663/handzus-tri-zatvorene-sezony-znamenaju-pre-mlady-talent-koniec-kariery.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1640005470.
[1] Korona.gov (2021): Koronavírus a Slovensko.
[2] Čiefová, M. (2021): Slovakia social briefing: Children Back in School and (Un)Traditional Easter.
[3] SME (2021): Handzuš: Straty, ktoré robíme deťom, sú devastačné.
[4] HNonline (2021): Gröhling ohlásil spustenie reformy školstva. Parlament schválil prvé zákony.