The novel Coronavirus has had a severe impact on the World as a whole and has shaken every industry to its very core. Additionally, all the governments around the globe have temporarily shut down all the educational institutions to combat the spread of the novel Coronavirus pandemic.
With all the world economies being affected by the deadly virus, India too imposed a nationwide lockdown bringing the entire economy to a standstill to save lives and has even severely impacted the learners ranging from children going to schools to people pursuing their masters. The impact of COVID-19 on education in India has given a huge blow and student have been asking for help, but even the educational institutions are not so safe.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), as many as 67.6% of the global student population or 118,41,26,508 learners has been impacted due to the novel Coronavirus and the steps taken to combat the deadly virus.
There are many other countries which implemented the closure and have impacted millions of their country’s learners. UNESCO is supporting countries in their efforts to ease the abrupt impact of the closure of educational institutions especially those who come from the vulnerable communities. UNESCO is also helping facilitate the continued education for all those via remote learning.
The UNESCO reports that this Coronavirus pandemic will adversely impact more than 1.18 billion or 118 crore students across 22 countries. The world organisation also estimates that close to 32 crore students from India alone will be affected including those in schools and colleges and this says a lot about the impact of Corona on education in India.
Also Read: How Covid-19 Ruining The Indian Economy? How To Recover From It?
To tackle the problem of loss of education, the Indian government came up with e-learning and many ed-tech firms tried to come up with solutions either by offering free online classes or providing discounts on the e-learning modules to the students.
These measures have even met the overwhelming response of the students as some start-ups even witnessed a sudden rise which was a high as 25% in the e-learning domain. Currently, the students are taking the remote learning very positively and even consider it to be a viable situation during times like this as it even offers convenience, affordable lessons and on-the-go classes.
At the same time, as a silver lining of the novel Coronavirus, the virus has pushed the experts to reconsider the traditional educational strategies which have been a huge impact of Corona on education in India, as of now the digital education is booming and is proving to be a viable solution to become the bridge for classroom education for three to four months while, at the same time, minimize the chances of contracting the novel Coronavirus for both the students and the faculties until classes resume.
Furthermore, the novel Coronavirus has brought the hitherto peripheral problem of digital education in the country in the limelight.
- people consider that the digital education will take the mainstream in the coming future.
- Experts say that this will make sure that the inclusive education takes place by enabling the learning process which will not be limited by the geography or either the student or the teacher.
The technology is revolutionising the way we learn, today.
- Every student can access to the world-class education and learning, which is not easy when considered the traditional board and chalk way of teaching.
This new way of learning or teaching is not only interesting but also personal and enjoyable at the same time.
The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) which are the online courses aiming at the unlimited participation and open access through the web are making their way into India where the country has begun its march of becoming the biggest market for these MOOCs in the world right after the United States of America.
Given the huge population of India, which is the 2nd highest in the whole World, the MOOC is said to have open the gate to the Indians when it comes to catering the educational revolution trying to diminish the impact of COVID-19 on education system in India.
- These online distant learning methods have allowed people to subscribe to the world-class quality of education with the help of the internet which can be said a positive impact of Coronavirus on education in India
Digital learning has set people free with no physical boundaries, as
- Digital learning offers more learning engagement
- Generally, digital education even let you learn at your own speed than traditional and conventional learning.
Additionally, comparatively, it is even cost-effective and students get to learn at their comfort zones.
Drawbacks of Digital Education in India
Having said this, everything has some drawbacks and unfortunately, digital education is no exception. From years, it has been always considered that in-person communication is the best form of communication as it gives the ability to explain oneself much better and overall it has personal experience.
Even though digital education has found huge success across the globe, in India there is still a lot to do before digital learning could be made accessible to all and could be named the mainstream education as people and student living in the urban areas have an easy reach to the digital education when compared to their counterpart who come from rural areas which, at times, not only lack the necessary infrastructure but also are not so strong financially to avail the resources needed for the digital learning which has been another Corona effect on the Indian education.
The building of the digital education infrastructure by the Indian Government seems a little farfetched right now given the
- constraints on the budget because of the novel Coronavirus and the relief packages provided by the Indian government.
Additionally, assuming the infrastructure is developed necessary for the digital education, still,
- The training will hold a colossal challenge which will be needed to be given to the faculty so they have the proper grasp of the digital education and can offer not only authentic and proper education to the students but uninterrupted and seamless flow.
Not only this, the other constraint of the digital education in India is the
- The huge reliability on the power supply and consistent internet connection which, considering the tier-2 and tier-3 cities in the country, could be a long way from becoming the reality.
- Digital Education in India will lack the personal experience when compared to traditional methods of teaching.
- Additionally, the e-learning could witness a high dropout percentage owing to the lack of atmosphere for studying which you get at the traditional brick-and-mortar educational institutions.
It is very easy to get distracted with all the social media platforms, gaming consoles, games on the smartphones and other devices and also because of not able to connect while taking the classes online.
- The successful delivery of education in e-learning is often at the receiving end of many questions because when it comes to a higher level of education the level is completely different compared to the school level.
The application and approach needed for the different level of education changes drastically and e-learning platforms will have to wary of that.
- When compared to the educational material, the digital education platform cannot come close to the written and handy material which are provided in an educational institute.
Additionally, when looked closer, the authentication of the material used for education is also at stake.
The experts argue that as there will always be different ways students will be provided with the information and teachings, the authenticity of the material used for education will be needed to be tested before they are circulated which is also a big impact of COVID-19 on education sector in India.
Apart from the creation and distribution of content, even evaluation is really important when it comes to digital education. At this point in time, distant learning needs to co-exist and the blended education needs to come face to face.
- Another concern with the digital learning is the maintenance and storage of the educational material, these courses, classes and material could lead to hacking systems and intruders trying to get in.
The safety of the digital content will be a huge issue.
Though owing to the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, the Work From Home culture has skyrocketed in India and with social distancing norms put in place as the best way to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus as there is no vaccine for this deadly virus till date. Companies have faced unprecedented challenges which include swift operations of daily tasks even when everyone is working remotely.
As an aftermath, not only the decorated businessmen and the start-ups in the country adopted online platforms such as Skype, and Zoom to stay connected with the employees who have been working from their respective homes but also the educational institutions have opted for the digital platforms to facilitate online learning of their student, this is what the impact of COVID-19 on education has been.
Having said this, the educations institutions in the urban Indian can resort to offer these facilities as the educational system and its growth has not grown to this extent.
- As there are several ways which can define digital learning and the approach to education which can be used in the learning environments there are many colleges and extra curriculum activity classes which have started using technology
As an impact of COVID-19 on education sector, there have been many colleges, especially the engineering and design colleges in Pune, which have put applications such as Zoom to use to provide online classes via video conferencing.
Tackling the security concern these video conferencing apps could come with, they have continued to strive and have become some of the most used applications which have come out as beneficial and advantageous.
The picture and sound clarity and low latency help to impart the knowledge both effectively and efficiently and helps both the students and the faculties.
At the same time, there have been negative impacts of COVID-19 on education in India as not only exams of the various entrance were pushed but also CBSE had to cancel all the remaining board exams for classes 10th and 12th due to the deadly virus which has been one of the biggest impact of corona on education system.
The exams cannot be conducted online as there is no feasible way to ensure anti-cheating guidelines.
Additionally, the question apart from the continuous and uninterrupted education during the nationwide lockdown also remains of tacking the biggest challenge for the faculties which is to focus on the overall well-developed course which needs to be tweaked for the online and digital learning.
Developing a well-defined and well-rounded online course which not only supports the student but also the faculty is a colossal task which requires devotion of time and resources. After that, too, the implementation of the same on the digital learning platform remains a big task.
Conclusion
Though there are drawbacks of digital learning, but the advantages outweigh them. The impact of COVID-19 on education in India has been huge but has pushed the people towards technology which can not only provide a strong and strong alternative of the conventional education system but also diminish and compensate the threats posed by the deadly virus on the education system in the country.
It is clearly visible that the impact of Corona on education system in India has been huge but the learning process never stops and the educational institutions in the country from the bottom level to the highest level can use COVID-19 as a blessing in disguise and strengthen their educational system and enhance the learning process for all the students and learners in the future.
