Prepare a speech on ‘Changing education system in India due to Covid-19’
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The petrifying and severe impact of COVID-19 has shaken the world to its core. Further, most of the Governments around the world have temporarily closed educational institutions in an attempt to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. In India too, the government as a part of the nationwide lockdown has closed all educational institutions, as a consequence of which, learners ranging from school going children to postgraduate students, are affected.
These nationwide closures are impacting over 91% of the worlds' student population. Several other countries have implemented localized closures impacting millions of additional learners. UNESCO is supporting countries in their efforts to mitigate the immediate impact of school closures, particularly for more vulnerable and disadvantaged communities, and to facilitate the continuity of education for all through remote learning. The UNESCO report estimates that the coronavirus pandemic will adversely impact over 290 million students across 22 countries. The UNESCO estimates that about 32 crores students are affected in India, including those in schools and colleges.
Digital learning has many advantages in itself like digital learning has no physical boundaries, it has more learning engagement experience rather than the traditional learning, it is also cost-effective and students get to learn in the confines of their comfort zone. However, digital learning is not without its limitations and challenges, since face-to-face interaction is usually perceived as the best form of communication as compared to the rather impersonalized nature of remote learning. Globally, online education has met with some success. In the case of India, we still have a long way to go before digital learning is seen as mainstream education, because students living in urban area have the facilities to opt for digital education, however, rural area students do not have the required infrastructure nor are financially strong to avail the resources required for digital education. Building of the digital education infrastructure by the Government of India presently appears to be difficult due to lack of budget. Further, even if the digital infrastructure is built, training has to be given to the teachers to use the digital system to provide authentic and proper, uninterrupted and seamless education to the students. Remote learning increasingly relies on the reliable power supply and ubiquitous Internet connectivity which might be a far- fetched thing for Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in India.
Due to the outbreak of the pandemic, the work from home (WFH) culture is booming in India. As social distancing is prescribed as the best way to curb the spread of COVID 19, companies are faced with an unprecedented challenge of ensuring it is business as usual even if everyone is working remotely. Therefore, not only businessmen or start-ups in India have opted for an online platform like Zoom App to stay connected with their employees who are working from their homes but also the educational institutions have opted for different digital platforms to facilitate learning for their students. However, only educational institutions in urban areas can provide those facilities. Again the questions are raised for the learners in rural areas, the educational systems in rural areas and their growth.
But at the same time, there is a glaring disadvantage as exams have to be postponed. Examinations cannot be conducted online. It is not only just the question of imparting continuous and uninterrupted learning during the outbreak of COVID 19 pandemic but also the most important challenge for the instructor is to focus on the overall elements of a well-developed course. Developing a purposeful and well-defined online course, which supports the instructor and learner, means devoting the appropriate time and embedding the applicable course elements into the e-learning environment. Through the use of technology, we can, if not provide a strong alternative to the conventional education system, mitigate and compensate for the impediments posed and inconvenience caused due to COVID 19 pandemic to the education system and learners by extension. Learning, as they say, is a continuous and ever-evolving process. The educational institutions in India, from schools to universities, can use this present adversity as a blessing in disguise and make digital education a major part of the learning process for all learners in the future.