Nelson Mandela had famously said that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” While that is a compelling statement in itself, what has emerged in this current scenario is the importance of education and the significance of online education in India.
The world has gone through an unprecedented situation during the Pandemic, and online learning has become the gamechanger.
How has Covid 19 changed the educational system?
Despite a significant rise in literacy rate in the last decade, the Indian Education system has always been archaic and didactic. The emphasis has always been on rote learning, a standardized evaluation system with little or no value attached to technology. However, the Covid 19 situation has highlighted the importance of online learning. One of the key highlights of the National Education Policy or NEP 2020 is the affirmation of the tenet that online in India is one of the mainstream mediums at present and for the future.
Online education is now a way of life
Source: iimskills.com
Despite a complete meltdown in many other areas, there has been one area where it has been proved that there can be multiple ways to proceed, and that is online education. While the whole world shut down, online learning became the way of life.
What changes have occurred in the educational sector in the past year?
For the past year, many changes have been introduced in the educational sector, and students have heavily relied on online learning, which justifiably raises the question of the future of online education in India.
Thanks to the fantastic advancement of technology and the rapid growth of the educational sector, online learning has become an offering by numerous institutions worldwide. Let us have a look at how online education in India can be a total gamechanger.
According to recent reports, schools and colleges have adopted and adapted online learning quickly. The Babson Survey Research Group did a survey and found out that online learning and student participation are at an all-time high.
Shall we have a look at some statistics then?
What does the UNESCO report say?
As per the UNESCO report, since the outbreak of the Pandemic, 1.37 billion students spread across 138 countries have been affected due to the closure of schools and educational institutions, and 60.2 million University lecturers and school teachers have not been present in a classroom. With the world in a lockdown mode, online learning was being conducted on online platforms such as zoom, skype, Meet, Google classrooms, etc.
Let us have a look at the benefits of online learning –
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Bridging geographical barriers
Online learning helps bridge geographical barriers – With the emergence of online education in India, the geographical limitations will not remain. The flexible options of online learning have also opened up doors for working professionals or those wanting to further their education.
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Affordability
Online learning is affordable – Online education in India is affordable. Teaching had always been highly labour intensive, but with the advent of online learning, AI can control many tasks, thereby relieving teachers of mundane tasks.
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Healthwise Safe
Safety of health guaranteed – The traditional and physical schools will not be completely safe till all the school staff and students are vaccinated, and therefore the risk of Covid 19 will lurk. With online learning, the risk reduces, and education can continue.
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Adaptive format
Adaptive learning technologies – Online learning is greatly supported by specific management systems, which reduces the time for taking attendance, keeping records, or assigning work.
- Personalized
Personalized educational module – Online learning can offer the pace of education and benefit many learners who have dropped out of formal education due to paucity of time.
Source: www.education.gov.in
What are the challenges for online education in India then?
Lack of technical infrastructure
The greatest challenge for online learning in India is the lack of technical infrastructure. The rural areas in India lack the technical infrastructure drastically. 65.53% of our population resides in rural areas, and therefore, the Government needs to take specific measures to bridge the gap between the rural and urban areas.
Socio-Economic division
There is a substantial socio-economic divide in our country and only a tiny part can access online learning. According to a school teacher in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra ”In a Class of 40 students, after two months of online classes, around 20 students regularly attend class with whatever device and connection they have. Around 5 – 8 students are completely absent till date and rest are fluctuating” Then again another teacher in Himachal Pradesh says that “It is a frustrating experience to engage students of lower classes in online mode. There are network issues on both teachers’ and students’ ends”.
In many places, to handle these internet connectivity issues, online learning is happening by teachers sharing videos on WhatsApp or YouTube links that the children can watch at their own time. This however again promotes rote learning, but the pre-recorded sessions aired on television like Swayam Prabha DTH channels or audio lessons on Radio also do the same, though the good point is that a significant chunk of these student population cannot avail of online education.
Online education in India: What is the way ahead?
- Teachers must be interactive and Proactive
Teachers must talk and be proactive to make online learning a success. Teachers can and should involve the parents in the pursuit of online learning of their wards.
- Students need to complete their assignments on time
Online education in India will take a perfect form when the students finish assignments allotted to them by their teachers.
- Tracking and Monitoring students –
Tracking and following up with students is essential in online learning, otherwise, the students will tend to lose interest.
- Appreciate the students
The teachers will need to appreciate the students upon every small achievement during online learning.
- A holistic approach needs to be devised
A holistic approach has to be designed for furthering online education in India. Children will mainly become gadget dependant, and thus curriculum and assignments need to be created keeping the same in mind.
- Stipulated screen time must be set up
Prolonged exposure to the internet and mobile phone without parental guidance may prove detrimental, particularly for a particular age group. Therefore parents should be aware of what is the stipulated screen time needed for online learning.
- Knowledge about Cybersecurity
Parents, teachers, and students must be aware of cyber safety. There needs to be a list of Dos and Don’ts by the ministry of education, and a congenial and safe atmosphere must be created during online learning.
- Gender Bias needs to be bridged
Gender bias, which has increased during Pandemic times, must be bridged if online education in India is to be successful. According to a report by UNESCO, nearly 11 million girls may not go back to school post the pandemic. In a survey done in Bihar, it has come to light that only 28% of girls have smartphones in their homes, vis-a-vis 36% of the boys. Smartphones are generally male-dominated, and therefore, the girls have to mostly depend on Doordarshan or All India Radio for their dose of online learning.
- Need of an inclusive online education policy
There is a need for an inclusive education policy to make online education in India successful and effective. Various schemes, training programs, resource allocation, and availability are all the needs of the hour.
- Teachers must be prepped for online education
The preparation of teachers for online education in India is a must. The approach is two-pronged. One is that teachers need to be digitally aligned and updated about the latest innovations and techniques on the same.
- Increase in Parental Role
The parental role, as discussed earlier, will be immense. It will be their prerogative to look after the children’s physical well-being and mental well-being as well. The detrimental effect of over usage of the internet is a source of concern.
- Communication between teachers, parents and students is a must –
A regular communication channel between teachers, parents, and students is necessary to make online learning successful in India. A straightforward cut-out routine will help the children and parents cope with the changing dynamics of education, particularly online learning.
- Develop more resources
The need of the hour is to develop and identify or use resources such as audiobooks, sign language books, tactile materials etc, to develop online education in India.
- Physical difficulty for prolonged online education
We must also keep in mind that pursuing online learning sitting in the same posture throughout the day may prove to be harmful. Prolonged exposure to digital devices can also have harmful effects.
Online education in India – The need of the hour
Therefore, post-Pandemic, we have concluded that online education in India is the need of the hour, and to implement this online learning the Government needs to draw up an inclusive plan. All subjects that do not require any hands-on skills can take the online learning route, while courses that require hands-on learning can appropriate a hybrid model. The numerous Massive Open Online courses or the MOOCs do not require any approval, but online learning courses leading to degrees must be approved by the University Grants Commission or the UGCs.
Source: profuturo.education
Reason for slow growth of online learning in India
One of the most important reasons for the slow growth of online education in India has been the careful approach adopted by the Ministry of Education.
A futuristic approach by the present Government has been the announcement of National Digital Educational Architecture or the NDEAR in the 2020 budget. The NDEAR is “for administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation and delivery of educational courses, training programs, or learning and development programs”, which can lead to a more organized online learning management system. Cutting-edge technologies like AI can lead to more insights required for strategizing online education in India and online learning.
Importance of Television channels towards spreading online education in India
Having discussed the wherewithal of online education in India, we must remember that TV is still more relevant in the Indian rural scenario. Online learning can be made available and affordable by the Ministry of Education by using various TV channels and DTH. Rather than being dependant on smartphones and laptops, online education in India can piggyback on the numerous satellite channels.
Importance of Radio in spreading online learning in India
Internet radio and community Radio are also being used by the Ministry of Education to spread online education in India. The Mukt Vidya Vani or the MVV creates educational and informational content for online learning. Radio Vahini or the community radio station of NIOS caters to school drop-outs, urban women, and marginalized sections of the society who can access Radio.
The CBSE podcast called Shiksha Vaani is also an audio-based learning system by CBSE and is available at the Android App Store. This podcast covers numerous subjects of secondary and higher secondary in Hindi and English. To date, more than almost 400 audio files related to NCERT curriculum are available on this platform.
Finally, thoughts to ponder upon regarding online education in India
In a country like India, where there are multifarious diversity and constraints in resource availability and allocation, online learning must be planned and executed with utmost care. Online learning opens up many possibilities for students and teachers, but it also widens and showcases the inequalities prevalent in the Indian socio-economical fabric. Therefore, all policies to incorporate and spread online education in India must be inclusive. Efforts to spread online learning must have collaboration between Government and Private entities. It now depends on how imaginative and resourceful we can be because as far as online learning or online education 8n India is concerned, the sky is the limit.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
