COVID-19 outbreak has put the world in the corner.

Everyone’s l

ife has pretty much come to a standstill. The world governments are working hard to bring
the situation under control and then eliminate the enemy but sour news still pours in from all
directions. Amidst all this confusion, the education system has also been adversely affected.

With the emergence of the virus, several businesses and other institutions were shut down.
The aim was to contain the spread of COVID-19 and eliminate it post which, hopefully, the
institutions would re-open. But, the virus persists and similarly, educational institutions have
remained closed.

Given the present situation, the possibility of when the schools and colleges will reopen
remains largely uncertain. Meanwhile, exams have been postponed and new graduates are
facing unemployment. Thus, even if the corona virus has failed to infect students it has
nonetheless impacted the future of 32 crore young citizens of the country and 600 million
learners across the world.

But there is a silver lining to the dark clouds gathered overhead. Immediate measures were
taken to continue providing education by taking the system online. Many educational
institutions migrated to the online mode of communication, taking up classes through apps
like Zoom. Although the change was sudden and drastic, it came with its own set of
advantages and disadvantages, but on the whole, this seems to be the only solution to the
present problem of the 21st century.
Online education, which was in its nascent stage in India, is now seeing a huge boom. Although the traditional method of teaching is more
preferred in the country, the COVID-19 crisis has led to mass migration towards the online mode of education. Besides, online classes do
turn out to be profitable to both students and their teachers to some extent.

Advantages of online teaching

It’s convenient

One of the major advantages and appealing factors of online education is its convenience.
The students and teachers can attend or take classes from any location of their choice. A lot
of time is saved due to the elimination of time spent on travel.

It’s flexible

Online mode of education provides the students and the teachers the chance of choosing the
best time to study. The students also have the chance of revisiting a class/lecture which they
might have missed or need to revise. The only requirement is a computer or a smartphone
with a decent internet connection.

It’s economical

Another attraction of online classes is that it is economical. Online education demands much
less infrastructure from an educational institution and consequently brings down costs. The
need for an educational institution to reserve a physical location is removed and this
translates into a more cost-effective class for the students. Online education also saves time
and money by removing the need to travel to a particular location by the students and
teachers.  
Tech-savvy

With the sudden move to online education, though challenging in the beginning, it has
revolutionized the concept of traditional education. It is helping teachers and students to grow
their tech skills.

And yet, despite all its advantages, online mode of education or E-learning also has its fair
share of disadvantages. The covid-19 pandemic has caused the largest disruption of the
education system in history and like any big problem plaguing a society; has its worst effect
on the vulnerable populace.

The virus has reduced the opportunities of people and children living in poor or rural areas,
girls, refugees, and displaced persons. Thus, the modern world solution of online education
has not solved the age-old problem faced by the poor. Millions of students coming from poor
backgrounds throughout the world are currently facing that lack of access to education which
consequently will only set them back further along the path of opportunity for a hopefully
better future.

Disadvantages of online education

Technology issue

For effective online education, a student must possess a decent computer or smartphone with
a proper internet connection. But only possession of the equipment does not suffice, for the
student or the parent must also be computer literate. Therein lies the major problem faced in
online education.

It may be noted that in India, a huge part of the population is struggling with poverty. The use
of technology to educate their children isn’t exactly their prime requisite. Most of such
population lies in the rural area and even if they did manage to have access to the required
devices, the internet connection is indeed a questionable quest.

The situation is no better in the urban area either. With most people remaining locked up in
their houses, the use of the internet increases. This can hit the bandwidth and connections
either don’t connect or take their own jolly good time to connect. This leads to another
problem mentioned below.

Personalized but less personal

Yes, online education does give you the advantage of selecting your pace of studying at your
feasibility but when it comes to school children and the younger generation it leads to an
opposite problem.

The online mode of learning reduces the traditional personal interaction between the teacher
and the student which in turn increases the communication gap between them. The personal
touch of a teacher to a student is hindered by a High-Definition display, but that touch is
vital.
During the formative years of the student, this personal interaction improves the student’s
communication ability but via online classes, virtual isn’t exactly in-person. Besides, poor
internet connection interrupting online classes is another issue to worry about.

Requires strong self-motivation

Online classes require strong self-motivation. Given the fact that the student is at home,
distractions are aplenty. And although most don’t like a strict teacher, it is such a teacher
within the confines of a classroom, who succeeds in making sure the student gives attention
and learns. But at home, such a constant push might go lacking.

Also, in a classroom setup, there exists peer-to-peer activities and strict deadlines which
ensures the students don’t fall off-track during studies. However, studying from home will
only turn out effective, if the parent performs the duties of a teacher as well. 

Communicational skill development hampered

Online classes can be considered to be highly effective at improving the academic knowledge
of the students, but it mostly neglects the development of a student’s communication skills.
Given the lack of face-to-face communication between peers, students, and teachers in an
online setting, the students may turn out to be unable to work effectively in a team setup.

Adaptation difficulty

Many schools have announced that their classes have moved to the online platform, but this
sudden change might turn out to be uncomfortable to both, the students and the teachers. The
first issue here is that the teachers themselves aren’t trained or prepared for this entirely new
mode of education and hence, they first need to familiarize themselves with the tech and its
applications. Meanwhile, the challenge only grows in stature for older teachers who may
never have used such a platform as Zoom or any other such apps.

On the other hand, students who were just getting used to their school routine might feel this
sudden migration hard to adapt to. First, it might feel liberating but eventually, they might
feel like they are stuck in limbo due to a lack of in-person human interaction.

All theory no practical

Online classes are heavy on theory. The students will lack facility of access to labs or
libraries. Although the students can be asked to do activities at home, they will nonetheless
face a lack of practical experience in a lab environment. 

Also, to mitigate the lack of a library facility, students could be provided with online journals,
PDFs to study or refer but over-exposure to screen-time is also a concern.

The challenges faced by the students during these pressing times are not only limited to them.
With everyone fighting their own battle with COVID-19, the education institutions too have
their work cut out for them.

With the world governments facing an overflowing cauldron of problems, most institutions
including private educational institutions have been left to fend for themselves. Below
mention are some of the problems that educational institutions are facing due to the Corona
virus pandemic

Problems faced by educational institutions

Lack of admission

With the shutting down of all educational institutions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the
drastic measure has also brought a full stop to gaining new admission for the institutions.
Yes, admissions may be done online but it has its twists and turns.

Since the fees for admission is quite a sum, online payment is not preferred by many due to
their inherent dislike or doubt about it. They rather pay in cash but that is not possible during
the lockdown. Also, some parents or students prefer to join a school only after visiting it and
getting an in-person feel of it which to is not possible in the present circumstances.

Meanwhile, the uncertainty of when or if the pandemic situation will come under control is
looming in everyone’s mind and hence, expenses are being brought to a minimum by almost
everybody. Thus, in the present scenario, saving one`s money to feed one`s stomach is more a
necessity than education and in this backdrop, the private educational institutions take
another hit.

Cut in tuition fee

The lockdown has stopped economic activity. Many have even lost their livelihood. But
educational institutions need to collect their fees to keep the machine running. However,
parents are finding it hard to manage their resources. Amidst all this, some governments have
asked private educational institutions to slash down their tuition fees.

Private educational institutions do not receive any funding from the government and hence
are completely dependent on the fees they collect. But, forcing them to collect less tuition fee,
albeit good for the parents, it puts additional pressure on the institutions making it hard for
them to even survive during the pandemic.

Besides, since the education mode has gone online, it essentially has become economical and
there’s an argument that now the tuition fees too need to come down. However, the cutting
down of fees will in no way bring out an institution from its debt if any.

Maintenance costs

Despite the lack of admission and the uncertainty of fee collection, the private educational
institutions nonetheless have expenses to look after. Institutions take loans to further the
infrastructure in their campus with the aim to better provide education and facilities.  But, this
sudden lack of resources/income can take a heavy toll on institutions. Worst hit by the present
situation of uncertainty will be the new educational institutions that have just started.

Conclusion

It is true that the situation looks quite grim however one dices it. This is probably the first
time we are facing such a dilemma since the two world wars. And yet, there is hope. The
systems might have slowed down, but they are also showing their clogs which when removed
is bound to restart everything more vigorously.

The COVID-19 virus has strongly affected the education system, but it has also introduced to
computer-aged learning. And as the saying goes “Nothing is Permanent”, the virus too is
bound to fade someday. But the changes it has made to the education system are here to stay.

Although online learning/education may not supersede the traditional method of education
which is bound to bounce back post the pandemic, the prior will leave its mark upon the
latter, and out of this amalgamation may rise an even more effective method of education,
interesting, fun and efficient.

COVID-19 outbreak has put the world in the corner. Everyone’s life has pretty much come to
a standstill. The world governments are working hard to bring the situation under control and
then eliminate the enemy but sour news still pours in from all directions. Amidst all this
confusion, the education system has also been adversely affected.

With the emergence of the virus, several businesses and other institutions were shut down.
The aim was to contain the spread of COVID-19 and eliminate it post which, hopefully, the
institutions would re-open. But, the virus persists and similarly, educational institutions have
remained closed.

Given the present situation, the possibility of when the schools and colleges will reopen
remains largely uncertain. Meanwhile, exams have been postponed and new graduates are
facing unemployment. Thus, even if the corona virus has failed to infect students it has
nonetheless impacted the future of 32 crore young citizens of the country and 600 million
learners across the world.

But there is a silver lining to the dark clouds gathered overhead. Immediate measures were
taken to continue providing education by taking the system online. Many educational
institutions migrated to the online mode of communication, taking up classes through apps
like Zoom. Although the change was sudden and drastic, it came with its own set of
advantages and disadvantages, but on the whole, this seems to be the only solution to the
present problem of the 21st century.

Online education, which was in its nascent stage in India, is now seeing a huge boom.
Although the traditional method of teaching is more preferred in the country, the COVID-19
crisis has led to mass migration towards the online mode of education. Besides, online classes
do turn out to be profitable to both students and their teachers to some extent.

Advantages of online teaching

It’s convenient

One of the major advantages and appealing factors of online education is its convenience.
The students and teachers can attend or take classes from any location of their choice. A lot
of time is saved due to the elimination of time spent on travel.
It’s flexible

Online mode of education provides the students and the teachers the chance of choosing the
best time to study. The students also have the chance of revisiting a class/lecture which they
might have missed or need to revise. The only requirement is a computer or a smartphone
with a decent internet connection.

It’s economical

Another attraction of online classes is that it is economical. Online education demands much
less infrastructure from an educational institution and consequently brings down costs. The
need for an educational institution to reserve a physical location is removed and this
translates into a more cost-effective class for the students. Online education also saves time
and money by removing the need to travel to a particular location by the students and
teachers.  

Tech-savvy

With the sudden move to online education, though challenging in the beginning, it has
revolutionized the concept of traditional education. It is helping teachers and students to grow
their tech skills.

And yet, despite all its advantages, online mode of education or E-learning also has its fair
share of disadvantages. The covid-19 pandemic has caused the largest disruption of the
education system in history and like any big problem plaguing a society; has its worst effect
on the vulnerable populace.

The virus has reduced the opportunities of people and children living in poor or rural areas,
girls, refugees, and displaced persons. Thus, the modern world solution of online education
has not solved the age-old problem faced by the poor. Millions of students coming from poor
backgrounds throughout the world are currently facing that lack of access to education which
consequently will only set them back further along the path of opportunity for a hopefully
better future.

Disadvantages of online education

Technology issue

For effective online education, a student must possess a decent computer or smartphone with
a proper internet connection. But only possession of the equipment does not suffice, for the
student or the parent must also be computer literate. Therein lies the major problem faced in
online education.

It may be noted that in India, a huge part of the population is struggling with poverty. The use
of technology to educate their children isn’t exactly their prime requisite. Most of such
population lies in the rural area and even if they did manage to have access to the required
devices, the internet connection is indeed a questionable quest.

The situation is no better in the urban area either. With most people remaining locked up in
their houses, the use of the internet increases. This can hit the bandwidth and connections
either don’t connect or take their own jolly good time to connect. This leads to another
problem mentioned below.

Personalized but less personal

Yes, online education does give you the advantage of selecting your pace of studying at your
feasibility but when it comes to school children and the younger generation it leads to an
opposite problem.

The online mode of learning reduces the traditional personal interaction between the teacher
and the student which in turn increases the communication gap between them. The personal
touch of a teacher to a student is hindered by a High-Definition display, but that touch is
vital.

During the formative years of the student, this personal interaction improves the student’s
communication ability but via online classes, virtual isn’t exactly in-person. Besides, poor
internet connection interrupting online classes is another issue to worry about.

Requires strong self-motivation

Online classes require strong self-motivation. Given the fact that the student is at home,
distractions are aplenty. And although most don’t like a strict teacher, it is such a teacher
within the confines of a classroom, who succeeds in making sure the student gives attention
and learns. But at home, such a constant push might go lacking.

Also, in a classroom setup, there exists peer-to-peer activities and strict deadlines which
ensures the students don’t fall off-track during studies. However, studying from home will
only turn out effective, if the parent performs the duties of a teacher as well. 

Communicational skill development hampered

Online classes can be considered to be highly effective at improving the academic knowledge
of the students, but it mostly neglects the development of a student’s communication skills.
Given the lack of face-to-face communication between peers, students, and teachers in an
online setting, the students may turn out to be unable to work effectively in a team setup.

Adaptation difficulty

Many schools have announced that their classes have moved to the online platform, but this
sudden change might turn out to be uncomfortable to both, the students and the teachers. The
first issue here is that the teachers themselves aren’t trained or prepared for this entirely new
mode of education and hence, they first need to familiarize themselves with the tech and its
applications. Meanwhile, the challenge only grows in stature for older teachers who may
never have used such a platform as Zoom or any other such apps.

On the other hand, students who were just getting used to their school routine might feel this
sudden migration hard to adapt to. First, it might feel liberating but eventually, they might
feel like they are stuck in limbo due to a lack of in-person human interaction.

All theory no practical

Online classes are heavy on theory. The students will lack facility of access to labs or
libraries. Although the students can be asked to do activities at home, they will nonetheless
face a lack of practical experience in a lab environment. 

Also, to mitigate the lack of a library facility, students could be provided with online journals,
PDFs to study or refer but over-exposure to screen-time is also a concern.

The challenges faced by the students during these pressing times are not only limited to them.
With everyone fighting their own battle with COVID-19, the education institutions too have
their work cut out for them.

With the world governments facing an overflowing cauldron of problems, most institutions
including private educational institutions have been left to fend for themselves. Below
mention are some of the problems that educational institutions are facing due to the Corona
virus pandemic

Problems faced by educational institutions

Lack of admission

With the shutting down of all educational institutions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the
drastic measure has also brought a full stop to gaining new admission for the institutions.
Yes, admissions may be done online but it has its twists and turns.

Since the fees for admission is quite a sum, online payment is not preferred by many due to
their inherent dislike or doubt about it. They rather pay in cash but that is not possible during
the lockdown. Also, some parents or students prefer to join a school only after visiting it and
getting an in-person feel of it which to is not possible in the present circumstances.

Meanwhile, the uncertainty of when or if the pandemic situation will come under control is
looming in everyone’s mind and hence, expenses are being brought to a minimum by almost
everybody. Thus, in the present scenario, saving one`s money to feed one`s stomach is more a
necessity than education and in this backdrop, the private educational institutions take
another hit.

Cut in tuition fee

The lockdown has stopped economic activity. Many have even lost their livelihood. But
educational institutions need to collect their fees to keep the machine running. However,
parents are finding it hard to manage their resources. Amidst all this, some governments have
asked private educational institutions to slash down their tuition fees.

Private educational institutions do not receive any funding from the government and hence
are completely dependent on the fees they collect. But, forcing them to collect less tuition fee,
albeit good for the parents, it puts additional pressure on the institutions making it hard for
them to even survive during the pandemic.

Besides, since the education mode has gone online, it essentially has become economical and
there’s an argument that now the tuition fees too need to come down. However, the cutting
down of fees will in no way bring out an institution from its debt if any.
Maintenance costs

Despite the lack of admission and the uncertainty of fee collection, the private educational
institutions nonetheless have expenses to look after. Institutions take loans to further the
infrastructure in their campus with the aim to better provide education and facilities.  But, this
sudden lack of resources/income can take a heavy toll on institutions. Worst hit by the present
situation of uncertainty will be the new educational institutions that have just started.

Conclusion

It is true that the situation looks quite grim however one dices it. This is probably the first
time we are facing such a dilemma since the two world wars. And yet, there is hope. The
systems might have slowed down, but they are also showing their clogs which when removed
is bound to restart everything more vigorously.

The COVID-19 virus has strongly affected the education system, but it has also introduced to
computer-aged learning. And as the saying goes “Nothing is Permanent”, the virus too is
bound to fade someday. But the changes it has made to the education system are here to stay.

Although online learning/education may not supersede the traditional method of education
which is bound to bounce back post the pandemic, the prior will leave its mark upon the
latter, and out of this amalgamation may rise an even more effective method of education,
interesting, fun and efficient.

COVID-19 pandemic effect on education

Online education and its pros and cons

By Aaron Dmello
28-04-2021

COVID-19 pandemic effect on education

https://www.edunews.com/news/covid-19-pandemic-effect-on-education

Online Schooling has taken off in a big way

during COVID-19 pandemic: Economic Survey
2020-21
 Percentage of school students owning a
smartphone increased from 36.5% in 2018 to
61.8% in 2020 in Rural India

The Economic Survey 2020-21 presented by the Union Minster for Finance &
Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament today states that
online schooling took off in a big way during the COVID-19 pandemic. Quoting
the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2020 Wave-1 (Rural), released in
October 2020, the Survey states that the percentage of enrolled children from
government and private schools owning a smartphone increased enormously from
36.5 per cent in 2018 to 61.8 per cent in 2020 in rural India. The Survey
recommends that if utilized well, the resultant reduction in the digital divide
between rural and urban, gender, age and income groups is likely to reduce
inequalities in educational outcomes.
To facilitate learning during COVID-19 pandemic, the Government is
implementing several initiatives to make education accessible to children. An
important initiative in this direction is PM eVIDYA which is a comprehensive
initiative to unify all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable
multi-mode and equitable access to education for students and teachers. Around 92
courses have started and 1.5 crore students are enrolled under Swayam
MOOCs which are online courses relating to NIOS. To mitigate the effect of
COVID-19, Rs. 818.17 crore is allotted to States/UTs to promote online learning
through digital initiatives and Rs.267.86 crore for online teacher training
under Samagra Shiksha Scheme. PRAGYATA guidelines on digital education
have been developed with a focus on online/blended/digital education for students
who are presently at home due to closure of schools.
The MANODARPAN initiative for psychological support has been included in
Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
The Economic Survey 2020-21 observes that India will have the highest population
of young people in the world over the next decade. So, our ability to provide high-
quality educational opportunities to them will determine the future of our country
(National Education Policy, 2020). As per U-DISE 2018-19, the physical
infrastructure of more than 9.72 lakh government elementary schools has improved
significantly. Out of these, 90.2 per cent have girls’ toilet, 93.7 per cent have boys’
toilet, 95.9 per cent have provision of drinking water facility, 82.1 per cent have
wash (drinking water, toilet and hand wash) facility, 84.2 per cent have medical
check-up facility, 20.7 per cent have computer and 67.4 per cent have electricity
Connection and 74.2 per cent have ramps among other essential services.
The Survey states that India has attained a literacy level of almost 96 per cent at the
elementary school level. As per National Sample Survey (NSS), the literacy rate of
persons of age 7 years and above at the All India level stood at 77.7 per cent.
Female literacy remained below national average among social groups of SC, ST,
OBC, including religious groups of Hinduism and Islam.
To provide quality education in schools and institutions of the government in
affordable and competitive manner, the government announced the new National
Education Policy, 2020 replacing the 34 year old National Policy on Education,
1986. The new policy aims to pave the way for transformational reforms in school
and higher education systems in the country. It aims to provide all students,
irrespective of their place of residence, quality education system with special focus
on the marginalised, disadvantaged and underrepresented groups. Some of the
other programs and schemes for school education during 2020-21 include Samagra
Shiksha, Enhancing Capacity Building of Teachers, Focus on Digital Education,
strengthening school infrastructure, focus on girl education, focus on Inclusion,
focus on sports and physical education and focus on regional balance.
 

Skill Development:
The Economic Survey 2020-21 states that only 2.4 per cent of the workforce of age
15-59 years have received formal vocational / technical training and another 8.9
per cent of the workforce received training through informal sources. Out of the
8.9 per cent workforce who received non-formal training, the largest chunk is
contributed by on-the-job training (3.3 per cent), followed by self-learning (2.5 per
cent) and hereditary sources (2.1 per cent) and other sources (1 per cent).
Among those who received formal training, the most opted training course is IT-
ITeS among both males and females, followed by electrical-power and electronics,
mechanical engineering- strategic manufacturing, automotive, office and business-
related work for males while the other preferred courses of females were textiles
handloom- apparels, office & business-related work, healthcare & life sciences and
work related to childcare-nutrition-pre-school & crèche.
The Government has taken several policy reforms for skill development recently.
The Unified Skill Regulator- National Council for Vocational Education and
Training (NCVET) was operationalized. For the first time, the Awarding and
Assessment Bodies’ Guidelines were notified in October, 2020 for more credible
certifications and assessments. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 3.0 was
rolled out in 2020-21 with a tentative target to skill 8 lakh candidates including
migrants.  The grading of ITIs has been undertaken to improve their quality and
transparency. Integration of Vocational Education and Training (VET) in general
education has received a big fillip with the NEP, 2020 envisioning giving 50
percent of school and higher education candidates exposure to VET over the next 5
years.
 ******
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1693215