Covid-19 impact: How coronavirus has affected education sector in India

Education is defined more innovatively today as compared to what it was centuries ago when teaching originally began. There was a period, a timeline when education was a privilege that only a few could afford or something that you would dedicate your entire life to pursuing. The true democratisation of learning came with the printing press era; this model by Gutenberg built the bridge through which learning was delivered in a manner that helped create and develop the most brilliant minds and along with it there was also a development of a whole new era of education.

In time this model, in collaboration with the industrial era led to a renewed version of education, i.e., building spaces for schools, classrooms, segmentation into batches by age and location, periodically scheduled exams, and more; hence creating the foundation of what we call the modern education system.

Fast forward to 2020! Of all the status-quos that covid-19 has disrupted, the education industry has perhaps faced the biggest challenge. Several prior theories had to be discarded considering that the current education system is undergoing its biggest shift ever; it has never been interrupted at the fundamental level globally, until now.

Entrepreneurs across countries are in the process of building tools and programs that would help students navigate and learn through simpler processes, this is with consideration of the fact that Gen Z and Gen Alpha are going to be at the receiving end of this massive transformation.

Covid-19 has made us realise our education graph

The pandemic has given everyone a sufficient amount of time to understand their education graph; this is irrespective of the age.

You must have witnessed on LinkedIn — people with well-established careers are posting about new courses they are taking and the skills they have been developing since the lockdown and even post it; this may be through a global learning app, a renowned university, or a simple MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) the whole world seems to be now open to learning.

Career professionals and students should continue to access these knowledge-based resources and subscribe to courses where they can gain advanced knowledge and be prepared for the evolving global economic trend. We should understand that the vitality of digital character and leadership for the future of workspaces is rapidly transforming, and we need to be on par with it.

Looking at a few avenues that would help construct a strong base for learning in the current situation:

• There should be restructuring in the way learning is distributed; pedagogies should evolve as per the requirements of online classes, and tutors/teachers should be given additional training to help them implement the new processes correctly and teach more effectively - they should unlearn and re-group for 2020 and 2021 learners
• The good news now is that the talented teachers who earlier were able to tutor selected batches and had their words etched in print are now able to reach everyone across the world through EdTech platforms - this should be completely capitalised on for every age-group
• Advanced tools that would help create a replica of a physical classroom and keep the peer-to-peer learning should be further developed - Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Mixed Reality (AR / VR / MR) should be leveraged on to build these virtual classrooms and create better visualization of concepts
• Academic structure and schooling can be made even more flexible with a common portal or forum for kids from a particular geographic location to help them compete and grow with their peers irrespective of their educational institution
• It is important now more than ever to work around the holistic growth of students with an emphasis on essential skills and extracurricular activities. Although the NEP policy does highly support a balance of this, it is very important to implement it strongly as the overall personality, and character growth of a student are of utmost importance
• Every student is different, some learn better in groups, some alone, some during the day, some in the night, some by reading, some by watching videos, some by reciting aloud, and some even by acting it out. Now is the time to work on these individual strengths by creating adaptive and customized learning programs that help nurture individual talent

E-learning will grow at a rapid pace

E-learning shall continue to grow at a rapid pace, and this is irrespective of age, location, and subject. The understanding and the adaptation towards electronic devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops) and the growing necessity of the internet across the world have made online learning all the more accessible and appealing to a generation that has already been receptive to technology; parents and professionals both.

EdTech players are partnering with content providers, individual subject experts, and diverse institutions to offer training and coaching to learners globally, the flexibility of learning from remote places is propelling the market demand for this medium of learning. Currently, about 580 MN Indians have access to the internet, of which 350 MN are active users. By 2022, this number is expected to surge to half a billion.

For all we shall hope, this difficult time might be restricted to a year or two, but this is when we get an opportunity to re-strategise and create a blanket learning solution that can be deployed in any crisis - education is the key to build a generation that can bring change and excel.

20 years down the line, we would have witnessed enormous growth in the learning graph as compared to what it has been in 2000 2020. This education shift has the potential to be a game-changer for generations and the economy for years to come!

(Authored by Siddharth Marupeddi, CEO, ULearn)

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