The COVID-19 disaster has jolted the worldwide economy with a pervasive effect on nearly all sectors. It has caused the assertion of a lockdown through numerous countries in an try to arrest the transmission threat of the disease. According to a UNESCO report, the pandemic will adversely affect over 290 million college students throughout 22 international locations because of the closure of schools in the wake of the lockdown. Extended college closures will now no longer best weaken the basics of college students, however, it’ll additionally cause a lack of human capital in addition to monetary possibilities withinside the long -run. According to the World Bank, its effect could be profound in countries wherein education is grappling with low studying effects and an excessive dropout rate. Several academic establishments had no preference however to include e-studying to maintain the momentum.
Over the beyond few years, e-learning has witnessed an uptick because of ubiquitous Internet connectivity, the proliferation of smartphones, and good-sized advances in technology. The ongoing disaster has to be perceived as a possibility in cover for online education. E-learning overcomes geographical boundaries and guarantees equitable get right of entry to education. It additionally helps convenient, quick, on -the- cross and 24×7 get right of entry. Numerous ed-tech corporations have leveraged this opportunity to provide training in a thrilling and interactive manner to students. E-learning appears a possible solution in the meanwhile to fill the void created because of the absence of classroom studying.
Fortunately, the Indian government has taken attention to the untapped capacity of e-learning. The one-nation-one platform facility via the PM E-Vidya platform and a devoted channel for college kids from Class 1 to Class 12 will liberalize distance and online studying regulatory framework. Moreover, emphasis on network radio, podcasts, and custom-designed content material for differently-abled will permit greater inclusivity into getting the right of entry to education.
However, certain challenges need to be addressed to deliver online education into the mainstream in India. Firstly, uninterrupted access to the Internet is yet to turn out to be a reality in Tier three and far-off towns in India. Secondly, the absence of a complete policy regulation results in ambiguity over the operational framework. Also, online education desires to take the focus on various getting-to-know tempos of college students and increase custom-designed answers for them. Moreover, the issues of extended display time, tension, and strain triggered because of the non-stop use of digital gadgets additionally want to be addressed.
Although online education can’t replace classroom schooling because of the personalized nature of interest and head-to-head interactions, it could be a powerful complement to the brick-and-mortar version of schooling. There is a want to redesign the modern pedagogy to seamlessly combine online studying into mainstream education. Equally giant is the want to plan a nice benchmark for education providers. This will inspire the weaning away fly -by- the -night time gamers withinside the field. So far, e-learning has proved a boon for city areas. It needs to be in addition increased to serve the rural and underserved hinterlands as well as differently-abled sections of society. New-age technology such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Virtual Reality amongst others may be instrumental in bridging the critical gaps.
The ongoing COVID-19 disaster has offered a possibility to rethink the deep-rooted classroom mode of education and underscored the importance of online learning. It has been a first-rate leveler because it has enabled various stakeholders to collaborate and assess the gaps and shortcomings in the traditional model. The COVID-19 pandemic can be simply the ‘tipping point’ for reform of the Indian education system.