Did the Pandemic Disrupt the Future

In 2021, the cancellation of India’s Class 10 and 12 board examinations due to the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted long-standing meritocratic norms. While public debate focused on grading and admissions, this study centres student voices in Odisha—a state marked by educational and digital inequalities—to understand how they navigated the disruption. Using data from 510 students, interviews, and institutional documents from four public universities, the study constructs two indices: the Capability Deprivation Index (CDI) and the Voice and Agency Index (VAI), capturing emotional, symbolic, and institutional dimensions of loss. Findings reveal that caste, gender, class, and geography significantly shaped both the extent of deprivation and students’ ability to respond. Applying Amartya Sen’s capability approach, the study shows that deprivation and agency were co-produced through institutional inaction and digital divides. It calls for rethinking educational justice—beyond credentials—to focus on expanding students’ real freedoms, voice, and recognition, especially during moments of crisis

Agency (philosophy · Capability approach · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Focus group · Grading (engineering · Index (typography · Meritocracy · Pandemic · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Peace and Human Rights Education · Sociopolitical Dynamics in Nepal