- Introduction
1) The education sector like any other sector is severely impaired by the covid-19 pandemic, both locally and globally. The learning curve, upskilling and evaluation are all under a paradigm shift as never before. In the developing economies, the stake holders are also under severe stress on account of physical and financial overtones of the pandemic. The UNESCO has estimated that some 290 million students across 22 countries would be badly hurt by covid-19.
2) More than 1.5 billion students and youth across the planet are affected by school and university closures due to the COVID-19 outbreak, reports the International Association of Universities (Global Voice of Higher Education).
3) To make things better appreciatedholistically, the prevailing economic scenario must also be understood clearly. The impact of Covid 19 on the economy decides its wider ramifications on other sectors like education, health care, business, trade, investment, infrastructure development, tourism, agriculture andthe like. Asia-Pacific regions may account for a loss of some three trillion American dollars in GDP. The global economy may shrink to 1.3 per cent in 2020. It may force banks to consider liberally, if the national governments focus on revival packages, special stimulus support to firms and even households. Economic recovery is going to be very demanding and even at terrible costs. Economic stimulus packages must be designed so perfectly to target the real focus groups so that leakages are minimal, with spread effects to bring in multiplier effects on income, employment and food security.
4) Lockdown was declared in many countries very abruptly and arbitrarily, resulting in untold misery to millions of migrant workers. They were left out as the hindmost to be taken away by the devil. It is a cry on spilt milk now. At least for initiating recovery measures, collective counsel of the stakeholders including the civil society leaders, political parties, banks, migrant workers and religious leaders—all major stake holders should be consulted unlike the unilateral decision in announcing the lockdown. There is an old saying that every adversity and dialectical change is a potential way forward. Isolating people may be good for medical reasons and research. But it is a disastrous recipe for economic collapse as it prevents daily wage earners to make ends meet, among others.
- Challenges and Opportunities for the Education Sector
- It must be understood that any change in any system is resisted. Here under the education system too, the old-time teachers and educationists of brick and mortar oppose the introduction of the online education system. However, covid-19 has necessitated the emergence of online education system. Advanced virtual classes are interactive in nature. Let us try to understand the new system in its pros and cons.
- Academic content to be reduced to accommodate more ability-based learning for pupils. Teaching faculty to be well trained to handle the new technology as it is more of technology centered.
- On line learning serves as a catalyst for the much-needed change for delivery to its learners. It is a shift or quantum leap from teacher centric to modern technology-oriented realm.
- It is a truism that there is no escape form the emerging globalization of education.
- There are serious allegations and even accusations against online education system. There is no personal touch or fellowship with the teachers and fellow students as students grow up. The psychosomatic influence of the collective human spirit and unity of humanity is severely impaired under this new system.
- Instruction of late has become online all over the world. US and UK universities have announced that in future, education is going to be online only. From pedagogic point of view, technology will play a bigger role in education in future. There is a huge digital divide in terms of band width and connectivity. There are unequal areas with online education system for students coming from rural areas, tribal areas and even urban slums.
- The post – pandemic financial situations may find it hard to fund such a demanding technology and its connectivity universally. The problem is more so with lower income groups. Across the board, teachers are not happy about the sudden introduction of online teaching without any training imparted to them.
- Opportunity for Change
- So far education has been confined to the elitist groups. Education is less about learning and more about acquiring degrees.
- We may effectively use the A I –Artificial Intelligence- techniques to improve the learning out comes. A I is a boon for teaching students who are differently abled.
3)There is good scope for continues improvement of digital infrastructure like smart phones and lap tops, deploying them as teaching aids. The days are here as we see the emergence of a new pedagogic paradigm. It means the best opportunity for students.
4) There is a ray ofhope for many developing countries that t e World Bank is comingout new fund support for educationunder its STARS—StrengtheningTeaching andResults for Sates- project, it has agreed for a bigproject of $ 3billion forIndia covering the states of Kerala, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Odisha,MP and HP. The very aimis tomake education relevant to local needs. Its major emphasis is to reform the governance architecture in order toimprove the quality of education. I sounda word of cautionhere that STARS project needsrealistic revamping to achieveits goals taking in to account location specific details and constraints.
- Impact of COVID—19
- The new approach of e-learning is much lauded by well-meaning progressive people.
- Are the students who pass out from such intuitions under e-learning employable to face real time situations is a major question to be addressed by policy makers.
- The choice is limited as student moments are restricted or stalled across the state and national borders. Many professional colleges and the centers of excellence are lying vacant in many regions of the world.
- The education loans taken from banks by many are to be rescheduled logically and realistically, taking a very lenient view of the long term economic down turn experienced under the pandemic.
- The immediate focus is on improving the curriculum, teacher training and development of infrastructure.
How does the changed economic conditions impact the regular salary payments to teachers and other staff is a moot question to be collectively addressed by governments and policy makers?
A great shift is now anticipated to the job seeking short term courses, due to the emergence of online education system.
- As social distancing is becoming an accepted norm, in the near future colleges and schools are about to become obsolete.
- E -learning will increase the socio -economic divide in the society.
- This has necessitated a peculiar situation, where all are on a steep learning curve the world over with regard to the emerging education system. Hybrid approach is the likely outcome of the online education system.
- The new online system, must be interspersed with handy on activities to make life cheerful.
- Demerits of online education
- Students mostly get a feeling of isolation and loneliness as they are not in a structured set up.
- The lack of peer interaction is a major drawback for emotional growth at the formative age for school going children.
- They obviously would lack the teacher interaction in close proximity. This would tell upon a vast majority of young students who are being influenced by their role models –their Gurus.
- Another conspicuous drawback of the online education system is the lack of access to all categories of students the on line facilities.
- Yet another issue is as how to address the needs of kindergarten going children holistically?
- Looking at the screen for longer hours is very stressful for the eyes. In some developed nations they blend education with recreation, so that the eye on the screen is not a permanent fix.
- It is argued that the thinking skills of children are done away with the screen fixation. It may be addressed summerly by policy makers and educationists for helping the posterity.
- Yet another possible threat of online education for prolonged periods is that it promotes lethargy among the growing youngsters.
- Education is a lot more than getting information and the content delivered to the students. Social interaction with peers, teachers and even the nature are the other perceived benefits of structured education system.
10 The needs of the children of the migrant work force must be accorded top priority. Do we have adequate provisions aimed at that segment is another moot question of online education regime to be addressed by policy makers.
- How do we focus on marginalized students to help them with a critical push.? How would the policy makers address this issue is the litmus test of its success or otherwise? China has overcome this handicap by facilitating students through cultural centers. Other countries and communities may make use of village libraries and community centers to face any such constraints by innovative approaches.
- Fundamental right for education is a universal right under the SDGs of the UN. This must be ensured under all systems. Online system must take serious note of this cardinal principle.
- Subjects like IT, Arts, Sports and Culture are some other areas merit special attention to make them student friendly in online education system.
- There are certain practical problems experienced by many afterthe introduction of online learning in many households. There areat times two children in somehouseholds needingseparate smart phones or laptops withseparate rooms for sitting.The matter is more complicated if the mother/ father is a student of teachers training course. It is achallenge to many low-incomehouseholds andeven forthe migrant workers. Data expenses is another conern.IN fact each student requires about2 GB data everyday, which is expensive for their parents.There is another observationthat whilethe online class in on if the computer gets any snag, there is a need for anotherelderly personto rectifyit or call a technician.
- At present inmany places the source of online learning is based on WhatsApp, googlenet, google classroom, etc. The teachers arenot fully trained to handle a sudden switchover to such a technology.This must be addressed expeditiously.
- There are classes with 40 to 50 students and its operational efficiency must be monitored very effectively tomake course corrections.
- The major question is ashow to go about practical’sfor scienceand engineering studentslike themoot court for law students. The same logicholds good for reference booksand library facilities.
As social distancing is a norm for years to come, 50 percent attendance in alternate days may be tried out. This may provide a happy blend of the old system and the emerging online educationsystem.
Policy Implications:
Generally, inthe third world countries, education has been confined to the elitist groups. Education is less about learning and more about acquiring degrees.
We may effectively use the A I –Artificial Intelligence- techniques to improve the learning out comes. There is good scope to bring about continues improvement of digital infrastructure like smart phones and lap tops, deploying them as teaching aids. The days are here as we see the emergence of a new pedagogic paradigm. It means the best opportunity for students. There is good news for many developing countries thatthe World Bank is comingout with new fund support for educationunder its STARS—Strengthening Teaching andResults for Sates.It has agreed for a bigproject of $ 3billion for India covering the states of Kerala, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Odisha, MP and HP. The very aimis tomake education relevant to local needs. Its major emphasis is to reform the governance architecture in order toimprove the quality of education. A word of caution is required that STARS project needsrealistic revamping to achieveits goals taking in to account location specific details and constraints.The new approach of e-learning is much lauded by well-meaning progressive people.Are the students who pass out from such intuitions under e-learning employable to face real time situations is a major question to be addressed by policy makers.The choice is limited as student movements are restricted or stalled across the state and national borders dueto covid-19. Many professional colleges and the centers of excellence are lying vacant in many regions of the world.The education loans taken from banks by many are to be rescheduled logically and realistically, taking a very lenient view of the long term economic down turn experienced under the pandemic. The immediate focus is on improving the curriculum, teacher training and development of infrastructure.
How does the changed economic conditions impact the regular salary payments to teachers and other staff is a moot question to be collectively addressed by governments and policy makers? A great shift is now anticipated to the job seeking short term courses, due to the emergence of online education system.
As social distancing is becoming an accepted norm, in the near future colleges and schools are about to become obsolete -learning will increase the socio -economic divide in the society. This has necessitated a peculiar situation, where all are on a steep learning curve the world over with regard to the emerging education system. Hybrid approach is the likely outcome of the online education system. The new online system, must be interspersed with handy on activities to make life cheerful. Students mostly get a feeling of isolation and loneliness as they are not in a structured set up. The lack of peer interaction is a major drawback for emotional growth at the formative age for school going children.They obviously would lack the teacher interaction in close proximity. This would tell upon a vast majority of young students who are being influenced by their role models –their Gurus. Another conspicuous drawback of the online education system is the lack of access to all categories of students the on line facilities. Yet another issue is as how to address the needs of kindergarten going children holistically? Looking at the screen for longer hours is very stressful for the eyes. In some developed nations they blend education with recreation, so that the eye on the screen is not a permanent fix. It is argued that the thinking skills of children are done away with the screen fixation. It may be addressed summerly by policy makers and educationists for helping the posterity. Yet another possible threat of online education for prolonged periods is that it promotes lethargy among the growing youngsters.
Education is a lot more than getting information and the content delivered to the students. Social interaction with peers, teachers and even the nature are the other perceived benefits of structured education system. The needs of the children of the migrant work force must be accorded top priority. Do we have adequate provisions aimed at that segment is another moot question of online education regime to be addressed by policy makers. How do we focus on marginalized students to help them with a critical push.? How would the policy makers address this issue is the litmus test of its success or otherwise? China has overcome this handicap by facilitating students through cultural centers. Other countries and communities may make use of village libraries and community centers to face any such constraints by innovative approaches. Fundamental right for education is a universal right under the SDGs of the UN. This must be ensured under all systems. Online system must take serious note of this cardinal principle. Subjects like IT, Arts, Sports and Culture are some other areas merit special attention to make them student friendly in online education system. There are certain practical problems experienced by many afterthe introduction of online learning in many households. There are at times two children in somehouseholds needingseparate smart phones or laptops withseparate rooms for sitting. The matter is more complicated if the mother/ father is a student of teachers training course. It is a challenge to many low-incomehouseholds andeven forthe migrant workers. Data expenses is another concern.Infact, eachstudent requires about2 GB data everyday, which is expensive for their parents. There is another observationthat whilethe online class in on,if the computer gets any snag, there is a need for anotherelderly personto rectifyit or call a technician. At present inmany places the source of online learning is based on WhatsApp, googlenet, google classroom, etc. The teachers arenot fully trained to handle a sudden switchover to such a technology. This mustbe addressed expeditiously. There are classes with 40 to 50 students and its operational efficiency must be monitored very effectively tomake course corrections. The major question is ashow to go about practical’s for scienceand engineering studentslike themoot court for law students. The same logicholds good for reference booksand library facilities. As social distancing is a norm for years to come, 50 percent attendance in alternate days may be tried out. This may provide a happy blend of the old system and the emerging online education system.\
Acknowledgements:
I am deeplyindebted to the reviewers ofan early draft of this paper. They include among others, Dr John Akkara, Mr. Kannan Kunhamboo, Dr Mahesh, Rev Dr. Abraham Mulamootil and Justice Dr KN Kurup. Mistakes if any are solely attributable to me only.