It is time to move India’s higher education online | Opinion

Education plays a dominant role in addressing the challenges a country faces and coming up with possible solutions. This has the potential to make a country self-reliant and resilient. While we understand the need for a greater share of public funding for supporting education, a country such as India needs to evolve innovative methods to spread mass education within the available resources. Undoubtedly, there is an increasing social demand for accessible, affordable and good quality higher education as the increasing gross enrolment ratio (GER) indicates.

Covid-19 has given us the opportunity to reflect upon what should be the structures of higher educational institutes (HEIs), and in what forms we can ensure accessible education during and after the pandemic. Those who question the need for adopting online education even post the pandemic should look no further than the non-equity in most of HEIs’ admission policies, which are based on elimination rather than selection.

I see two arguments advanced against adopting online education. One, the issue of the digital divide. This criticism is not as reliable as it may first appear. While it is true that Internet access has to improve, statistics tell a different story. In 2020, the Internet penetration rate in India is 50%, and is rapidly increasing.

The good news is that the National Broadband Mission (NBM) is progressing fast enough to provide access to every village by 2022. NBM is expected to enable all rural and remote areas to have equitable and universal access to broadband services. In the near future, three million km of optical fibre cable will be laid and the towers are expected to increase from the existing 565,000 to one million. The speeds are expected to reach 50 mbps. Therefore, broadband Internet connectivity will not be a hindrance in providing online education in the future. In India, mobile data charges too are at least 30 times lower than the global average, making it cheaper to access digital content.

The second argument is the belief that we cannot recreate the physical classroom experience. Therefore, some critics say that the online mode of education will dilute the quality of education. Unfortunately, the dilution is already embedded in the physical mode of teaching, with most students playing only a passive role in the classroom. This is one of the reasons why the teaching-learning outcomes in many HEIs are not up to the mark. The lack of student engagement and positive interactions through discussions in the classroom has led to the present situation, leading to increased absenteeism and poor performance by the students. We need to set this right before we criticise online education. Further, we should not import the bad practices of the physical classroom to the online classroom. And this is the right time to do it correctly by redressing the shortcomings of the past.

When we shift to online education, more attention needs to be paid on how we impart it. Online education can happen in two parts. First, at their own leisure and pace, students will go through the digital resources made available to them. Second, students can interact with the teachers in real-time live online classes, discussing what they have already studied from guided online resources.

It is in the second part that, teachers can play an important role. The teaching can be made enquiry or discovery-based, through inclusive and active involvement of students. Moving to online classrooms gives us the opportunity to create “non-didactic flipped classrooms” as students are expected to attend these after having gone through the pre-lecture materials. This is what we also call blended learning. We could have done this in the physical classrooms too but we missed the bus riding on outdated practices. But nothing stops us from implementing a flipped classroom in online mode.

As many people assume, HEIs do not necessarily need to possess state-of-the-art technology and lecture recording systems to be able to offer online courses. There are many educational technology companies which can provide the technologies for recording, editing, hosting online courses and arranging proctored evaluations while HEIs can work on pedagogy, curriculum, teacher training and improvement of the quality of education. This is also an opportunity for public-private partnership (PPP) in higher education.

HEIs must embark on offering skill-oriented online degrees, diplomas and certificate programmes. This is where prospective industries can join hands with the HEIs in designing the curriculum and offering job guarantees to the enrolled students provided their performance record crosses the desirable threshold. Being funded by non-governmental resources through PPP is the best guarantee for academic and financial independence of HEIs.

The Institutes of Eminence and other HEIs with top National Institutional Ranking Framework scores should mandatorily offer skill- oriented online programmes at a moderate tuition fee. This way, online education has the potential to enhance the social mobility of those who could not easily access quality education from premier HEIs. Covid-19 has provided us the opportunity to be flexible in higher education replacing the ineffective educational practices that we have clung on to for too long.

Maintaining quality in online programmes is important, but this should be done through appropriate mechanisms within HEIs rather than one-fits-all regulations. The greater the initiatives in online education from reputed HEIs, the more likely these will be accepted by students, teachers, parents and employers. In India, the time has never been better for HEIs to re-invent themselves.

M Jagadesh Kumar is vice-chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
The views expressed are personal

NITs relax admission norms: 'Only pass marks needed in class 12 examinations'

In the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, Central Seat Allocation Board (CSAB) today relaxed admission norms for admissions into National Institute of Technology (NITs) and Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs). NITs will admit undergraduate students based on their performance in Joint Entrance Exam-Mains (JEE-Mains) and will discount the class 12 board examination marks in selection process, the human resource development ministry said today. "JEE Main 2020 qualified candidates will now only need to obtain a passing certificate in class XII examination irrespective of the marks obtained," Union human resource and development minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank tweeted today.

Earlier, along with the performance in JEE-Mains, NITs used to demand either 75% mark in the board examinations or a place in the top 20 percentile of their respective boards.

Earlier, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) said that they will admit the students based on their performance in JEE-Advanced. The marks in class 12 board examinations will not be necessary for admission to IITs this year.

“For admissions to #IITs, apart from qualifying the #JEE (Advanced), the eligibility was to secure either minimum score of 75% marks in class XII Board exams or rank among the top 20 percentile in their qualifying examinations. Due to the partial cancellation of class XII exams by several Boards, Joint Admission Board (JAB) has decided to relax the eligibility criterion for #JEE (Advanced) 2020 qualified candidates this time," Pokhriyal said.

The board examinations were disrupted due coronavirus pandemic. On July 3, the union human resource development ministry had postponed the JEE examinations and the National Eligibility-cum- Entrance Test (NEET) to September, citing a sudden surge in COVID-19 cases. The JEE (Main) examination will now held between September 1 to 6 and JEE (Advanced) examination will be held on September 27.

"Keeping in mind the safety of students and to ensure quality education, we have decided to postpone JEE and NEET examinations," Pokhriyal earlier said.

Delayed JEE Main, NEET to take cut-off higher, students’ college choices likely to change

The announcement on the final dates of JEE Main and NEET, besides board exam results, is only half the battle won by students. Fears of further delay, retaining focus during this long time for preparation, and deciding on college admissions digitally is taking a toll on students. The challenges are tougher for those who are facing a financial crunch at home, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As students become more anxious by the day, teachers have donned the hat of counsellors. Brainly, a doubt clearing platform has seen an increase in the number of questions by as many as 50 per cent as compared to that of the last year.

Vanu Sud Dhindsa from Vedantu believes that queries from students are more about emotional well-being than academics. “Since the extended delay, students are falling into an unending loop of studying, then wondering about the future and then returning to studies. With exam centres being shifted and a majority of students at home now, their concern is more about the delay affecting an entire year than health,” she told indianexpress.com.

“How much more will I have to wait, will there be a further delay?” is among the most frequently asked questions by students, as per Sud. She added that college admissions being held virtually has made the difficult choice of selecting a college even tougher for students.

“The situation is worse for those who have faced an economic crisis amid all of this. These students are rethinking their choices, opting for a college near their homes, looking at courses which are less expensive. These are teenagers and most of them have been introduced to a financial crunch for the first time and end up feeling responsible for their choices. Many are not even discussing the issue with their parents,” informed Sud.

Students who have gone back home or those in a geographically disadvantaged situation are facing the brunt as connectivity remains a key challenge.

Competition to go higher

Saurabh Kumar, Director Academics, Vidyamandir Classes believes the delay will create a more competitive environment for students. “Since the marking in the competitive exams is relative, the cut-offs are expected to go higher. With limitations on foreign admissions too, the number of applications for colleges will go higher. We can see a rise in not just core courses and colleges but also for allied fields this year.” He also informed that students who appeared for the January attempt at JEE Main and secured 92+ scores are preparing for JEE Advanced rather than JEE Main.

He added, “Students are also worried about getting lesser time for their college education. For now, most are demanding more mock test papers and we are preparing around 30 such on a daily basis.”

Special arrangements for EWS students

According to RL Trikha from FIITJEE,  the questions are not just limited to JEE and NEET, parents are wondering about the safety of sending their child to school or college this year. Those aspiring to go abroad are already rethinking their higher education plans.

He too believes that with admissions, exams and preparations all going digital, it is the lesser privileged sections who are losing out on opportunities. FIITJEE thus is also providing distance mode learning to students. Under its Fortunate 40 programme, the coaching institute is offering free for hostel facilities for 40 students in each of its 82 centres. The institute is offering study material to students at home along with downloadable versions of online classes which can be accessed and downloaded from any device including a less sophisticated phone.

Trikha suggests, “If students follow the mantra of ‘learn, practice, test, and feedback’ (rectify mistakes), you will surely succeed.” He believes students can raise their rank by at least 10 to 100 positions depending on their practice.

STEM topics trickiest

Many students feel shy asking questions in front of the entire batch and reaching out to a teacher on an individual basis has become tougher than usual due to the lockdown, believes Rajesh Bysani, chief product officer at Brainly. This has given rise to more questions being asked among peer groups and communities.

Academically, STEM subjects are the most commonly asked topics in academics. Among STEM courses, students are finding mathematics to be among the toughest; questions about the application of a concept are among the most asked questions on the platform. Geographically, most questions are being asked from Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Lucknow, and Patna. Among languages, English is the most preferred mode followed by Hindi, Marathi and Malayalam and Gujarati, as informed by the doubt clearing platform.

CBSE 10th Result 2020 declared at cbseresults.nic.in, direct link here

CBSE 10th Result 2020: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has declared the class 10th results 2020 on its official website at cbseresults.nic.in. Students who have appeared in the CBSE class 10 examination can check their result at the official websites. Alternatively, the results can also be checked at cbse.nic.in and results.nic.in. A total of 91.46% of students have passed the examination. There is an increase of 0.36% percentage in comparison to last year’s 91.10%. This year, girls have outscored the boys with a pass percentage of 93.31 while the pass percentage for boys is 90.14%. A total of 2.23% of students or 41,804 students have scored more than 95% marks in CBSE 10th exam this year.

Direct link to CBSE 10th Result 2020

This year around 18 lakh students had taken the class 10th exam. CBSE has already declared the class 12th results on July 13. A total of 88.78% students have passed the class 12th exam.

How to check CBSE 10th result 2020 online

1. Visit the official results website of CBSE at cbseresults.nic.in
2. Click on the link for the CBSE class 10 result 2020
3. Key in your credentials and login
4. The result will be displayed on the screen

Students can also check their results on UMANG app or DigiLocker app by entering their login credentials as mentioned in their admit cards.

This year, CBSE has calculated the results on basis of alternative assessment scheme. According to the official notification, the alternative assessments scheme will operate in the following way:

1. If a student appeared for more than three subjects before the examinations were cancelled, an average score will be calculated taking into account the three subjects in which the student scored highest.
2. For those students who appeared in lesser examinations, the average will be based on the two highest-scoring subjects and allotted to the remaining papers.
3. For those who appeared in less than three exams, results will be calculated based on the marks in the appeared subjects along with their performance in internal/ practical/ project assessment.

Has CBSE Declared Result Dates for Class 10 &12? Circular is Fake!

A viral circular claims that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced that the dates of results for Classes 12 and 10 exams will be 11 and 13 July respectively.

This comes in the backdrop of the CBSE’s earlier announcement that the results for the aforementioned classes will be declared by 15 July.

CLAIM

Several media outlets including India TV, The Times of India, ET Now, and news agency ANI shared the information that CBSE has released the official date of the board results.

However, ANI, India TV and TOI later issued a clarification saying that the information is incorrect.

source

IITs dissociate themselves from IIT Alumni Council

The 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have collectively dissociated themselves from IIT Alumni Council—an organization that made news recently by announcing plans such as setting up a mega covid-19 testing lab and raising Rs21,000 crore for a private social initiative for India to create.

The premier institutions on Monday also debarred the council from using the logo of IITs without written concurrence of the IITs system or individual IITs.

“The recently formed IIT Alumni Council (http://iitalumnicouncil.org) is one example of an independent group of alumni which is engaged in various activities of their interest. Unless expressly indicated for specific projects, IITs have no role to play in their efforts or in their organization," the IITs said in a joint statement.

“IIT Alumni Council is also not at liberty to associate any IIT or its logo with any of the activities undertaken by it, unless they have the express written concurrence of the concerned IIT," the statement reads.

The council, a newly formed body, displays the logos of all IITs on its website, and claims itself to be the “nodal alumni body for alumni of all the Indian Institutes of Technology".

The website of the council, though, claims that it “facilitates inter linkages between IIT Alumni and decision makers in India, specifically with the objective of encouraging their participation in nation building". "It maintains the global database of alumni, facilitates alumni participation in professional events and promotes Brand IIT and IIT Alumni globally," the statement on the website reads.

In May, IIT Alumni Council had said it was setting up a mega lab that would have the capacity to handle10 million covid tests per month. On 26 June, the same organization announced a “mega fund initiative of ₹21,000 crore", which it termed as the “largest ever private social initiative for India to create".

But IITs, while acknowledging that their alumni "have done very well in their professions and made the institutes and the country proud" have underscored that their alumni have taken efforts in their individual capacity. "In recent years, there have been various groups of alumni who have found a common cause and have worked together towards achieving their objectives or making a lasting contribution. The IITs, however, wish to emphasize that these are efforts of alumni in their private and individual capacity, except in cases where one or more IITs have expressly partnered with alumni in a specific endeavour or project," the statement issued by the IITs reads.

To clarify that the newly sprung council was not authorized by IITs, the statement further explains: "These alumni groups are distinct from the authorized alumni associations that some IITs have, that work in close association with the respective alma mater to further the cause of the Institute and its alumni."

IITBHF Announces Grant of Rs. 2.35 Crores to Provide Laptops, Broadband to Needy IIT Bombay Students

IIT Bombay Heritage Foundation on Friday announced a grant of Rs. 2.35 crores to IIT Bombay in order to fulfill the needs of students in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chairman of IIT Bombay Heritage Foundation, Raj Mashruwala, confirmed that the fund will be used to purchase 500 laptop computers and broadband support for 500 needy undergraduate students.

According to a press release by IIT Bombay, "IITBHF was able to collect the USD 301,000 for this grant from its US-based alumni pursuant to extended fund-raising drives. Given that the need may be for up to 1,000 laptop computers, IITBHF is requesting other India-based alumni and IIT Bombay's corporate sponsors to provide matching funds to meet needs of additional 500 students."

IIT Bombay will finalise the criteria for the distribution of these funds to the appropriate students, it stated.

"We are delighted at this wonderful gesture by our alumni in the United States. Since we are at the 50 percent of this specific fund raising drive, we hope citizens come forward to help in equipping our students with IT tools so that they attend online classes next semester," said IIT Bombay's Director Subhasis Chaudhuri. (ANI)

ICSE Syllabus To Be Reduced By 25% For 2020-21 Due To Coronavirus

The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), the board which conducts the ICSE and ISC annual exams, has decided to reduce the syllabus by 25 per cent for next academic year due to the “significant shortening of the academic year and loss of the instructional hours” in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

“While a number of CISCE affiliated schools have tried to adapt to this changed scenario and have tried to keep alive the teaching learning process through online classes, there has been a significant shortening of the academic year and loss of the instructional hours,” a statement from the Board said.

To make up for the loss in instructional hours during the current session 2020-2021, according to the statement, the CISCE has worked with its subject experts to reduce the syllabi for all major subjects at the ICSE (Class 10) and ISC (Class 12) levels.

The council has also said the “syllabus reduction has been done keeping in mind the linear progression across classes while ensuring that the core concepts related to the subject are retained”.

The Council has also on Friday announced the assessment scheme for pending Class 10 and 12 exams which have been cancelled in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As per the scheme, candidates will be assessed based on three parameters — best of three marks, percentage subject project work, and subject project. Students will get an average of the best three percentage marks obtained from among the subjects for which board exams have been conducted.

While the subject project category refers to total marks obtained by the candidate in the internal assessment of the papers, the percentage subject project would be percentage of marks obtained by the candidate in the internal assessment of the papers.

CBSE 10th Result 2020: When would Class 10 results be declared? What is the Passing Criteria, & Other FAQs

Central Board of Secondary Education, CBSE would be releasing the CBSE Class 10 Results 2020 soon on cbseresults.nic.in. The board conducts the class 10 examinations in February and March every year. This year the examinations started on February 15, 2020 and were scheduled to end on March 28, 2020. However, due to various concerns, the examinations were first postponed and then cancelled.

The board, in the recent announcement, has cancelled all the pending CBSE Class 10 examinations. Here is a look at some of the frequently asked questions, FAQs on CBSE 10th Result 2020 – when will it release? What is the passing criterion for CBSE 10th Board Examination? What is the evaluation process for cancelled papers? How can I apply for revaluation? When would the marksheet be released? CGPA to numbers conversion and more.

Ques: When would CBSE 10th Result 2020 be released?
Ans: CBSE 10th Result 2020 is expected to be released by the board by July 15, 2020 - as per the information shared by the board in the recent hearing at the Supreme Court. The results would be announced on or before July 15.

Ques: Would CBSE Class 10 and 12 results be announced on the same date?
Ans: As per past trends, the chances of that happening are very slim. CBSE usually releases the Class 12 results first. Class 10 results are usually announced within a couple of days after the class 12 results are released.

Ques: How to check CBSE 10th Results 2020?
Ans: CBSE 10th Result 2020 would be released on the official website cbseresults.nic.in. Link for CBSE Results is also available on the official website of the board, cbse.nic.in. Students can check their results by using their Class 10 roll number.

Apart from checking it online, students can also check their results on CBSE ECL App and on Umang App. The results would also be shared with the schools, but that would be after they are released online. Also, over the past few years, CBSE Results are also available on Microsoft Bing and Google. It is likely that it would be available on the two portals as well.

Ques: When was CBSE 10th Results released in 2019?
Ans: CBSE Class 10 results were declared on May 6, 2019. The board usually releases the results by the end of May. In 2019, it had released the results in record time. However, this year, due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the consequent delays caused, the results are delayed and would be announced in July.

Ques: What is the passing criteria for CBSE Class 10?
Ans: As per the existing guidelines, students of CBSE Class 10 need to score a minimum of 33 per cent marks (individually and in aggregate) to be declared pass in the board examination. The 33 per cent marks include the internal assessment score as well as the external assessment score. The marks would be counted cumulative and not individually.

Also, students have to pass in a total of 5 subjects to be awarded pass. For students who have appeared in a total of 5 papers, they must get 33% or more in all the five subjects. In case a student fails in one subject – he/she can appear for that subject during compartment examinations.

For a student who appears in 6 subjects (5 main and 1 skill subject), in case the student fails in one subject but passes in the skill subject, he/she would be promoted to next class. Such a students, however, can appear for the examination as ‘improvement’, if he/she wishes to continue the subject in Class 11.

Ques: When are Compartment Exams conducted by CBSE?
Ans: The board usually conducts the compartment examinations in the month of July. This year, however, due to coronavirus pandemic, the dates may not be announced any time soon. It is likely that the board may conduct the examination only when the time is conducive.

Ques: What about the papers that were cancelled/ remaining for CBSE 10th 2020?
Ans: CBSE has cancelled all the remaining papers for Class 10 board examinations, that were scheduled between March 19 to March 31. As most of the papers were skill based, it would not impact the students’ marks or overall percentage. Whether CBSE would grade them as cancelled or as per internal grading has not been made clear. As for the main papers that were left for a few students of North East Delhi, CBSE has released a complete evaluation criteria. Students would be marked on the basis of the scores of the papers attempted.

If a student is not happy with the marks awarded for cancelled CBSE Class 10 exams, can he/she appear for the improvement later?
No. Marks awarded by CBSE for Class 10 cancelled papers would be considered as final. The board would not conduct any examination at a later date for the pending examinations for Class X students.

Ques: Does CBSE award Marks or Grades in Class 10?
Ans: CBSE would be awarding both marks and grades to the students. The mark sheet would have the cumulative marks scored by the students (out of 100, that includes internal marks and the marks awarded in theory examinations). The Grade would also be provided subject wise as per the guidelines. Also, the grades are awarded to the percentile rank of the marks scored by the students and not on the basis of the actual marks.

To explain it further, say the top marks in Science are 95 out of 100, then a student scoring 95 would be awarded A1. But, if the top marks scored in English are 84, then the A1 grade would be for 84 marks.

Ques: What is CGPA?
Ans: CGPA stands for Cumulative Grade Point Average. The method was used by CBSE under the CCE or Comprehensive Continuous Evaluation process. CGPA has been discarded since 2018. Students of Class 10 are now awarded marks.

Ques: When would CBSE 10th Mark Sheet be released?
Ans: CBSE usually releases the mark sheets on DigiLocker on the day of the results itself, or within a day or two. The physical copy of the mark sheet is sent to the respective schools of the students. Students can collect these at a later date, as convenient.

Ques: How can I get Migration Certificate?
Ans: CBSE issues the Migration Certificate and makes it available along with the mark sheet after the results are announced. The students’ schools have to apply for it at the time of filling the application form. In case you had not applied for it at the time of filling the application form, you can do so once your result is declared as well. Migration Certificate is also available in digital format and can be downloaded, once issued, from DigiLocker. Physical certification is made available by the board along with mark sheet at the time

Online education: Bored students and exhausted teachers

The COVID-19 pandemic has made “online education” a popular buzzword. Let’s be categorical about this: Replicating a classroom through communication tools such as Microsoft Team and Zoom is not digital education by any stretch of imagination. That alone is perhaps just 10 per cent of the ecosystem. Digital Education is a comprehensive ecosystem that not only includes innovative tools and technologies for teaching and learning, but also encapsulates a number of critical areas in the context of higher education. This digital ecosystem needs a robust academic infrastructure that not only organises virtual classrooms and labs but also conducts examinations and admissions and provides analytics for students and parents. The industry linkage also has to be woven into the digital education ecosystem, including elements such as placement, internships, incubation and alumni connects.

However, what we are seeing now in the name of digital education can be summed up as ”bored students and exhausted teachers”. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced institutions of higher education to adopt an “emergency remote teaching” model, in which teachers are attempting to rapidly digitise their lecture materials and put them online while also delivering classes in a synchronous manner to students who are online. While this approach has allowed at least some engagement between faculty and students, it is far from optimal.

What is needed is a blended learning model, which incorporates a vast range of digital activities that collectively deliver effective learning. At NIIT University, a significant part of such a blended learning model has been implemented, based on extensive work done over the last 10 years, with 40 years more of research and experience from the sponsoring organisation, NIIT Limited. This model incorporates innovative pedagogies, technology-based teacher-student engagement and end-to-end processing of student administration, from admissions, education delivery and assessment and certification, to campus activities, governance and industry-linkages, placement and alumni interaction.

The comprehensive ecosystem includes multiple aspects such as an online admission-interaction process, an increasing percentage of lab work done through digital simulators, and work-from-home internships during the pandemic. The NIIT model explains that digital education and traditional education are not two watertight compartments, but a continuum in the growth of the education ecosystem. A judicious blend of the two can benefit teachers, learners and other stakeholders in the system.

It is in this context that we should view the advantages and disadvantages of digital and traditional education. An important differentiator in favour of traditional learning is socialisation, which is absent or minimal in digital learning. Socialisation happens not just inside the classrooms, but also in other social settings through peer-to-peer interactions, creating real-world experience and building confidence in learning. There are also other limits: Subjects that require introspection, deep discussion and debate are more effectively taught in traditional settings. For example, if one wants to learn philosophy, which requires the ability to deeply evaluate given knowledge and synthesise and arrive at new postulates, it will be very difficult to acquire that level of deep learning virtually.

However, one of the challenges of the traditional mode of education is that it requires extensive physical infrastructure, which can be expensive and can cater only to a limited number of students. Digital education offers a flexibility that allows access to learning, irrespective of time, pace and location. This advantage has been clearly manifested in the present pandemic where learning, however ineffective and inefficient it may be, continues even when schools and colleges are out of bounds and travel is restricted.

The greatest disadvantage of digital education today is the risk of low inclusion, given the digital divide in India due to patchy internet connectivity and limited access to devices like smartphones and laptops. And that’s why online education cannot replace traditional education, at least in today’s India. But it certainly can play a very important role in supplementing traditional education and performing functions that cannot be done through traditional means. For instance, digital learning can help students who are unable to enrol at traditional institutions due to issues of distance, thereby improving the gross enrolment ratios, which is a goal of the National Education Policy. But for that to happen, necessary pre-requisites include ubiquitous last mile internet connectivity in rural India and inexpensive and easily accessible digital devices for learners across the country.

In the proposed New Education Policy, we expect to see a pivotal role for technology. We need to be cognisant of the massive resources and deep expertise that will be required to drive digital education across the country. The availability of infrastructure, especially in rural India, will be one of the pillars of this drive. The National Broadband Mission created by the government to provide access in all villages by 2022 should fulfil its promise. Initiatives like SWAYAM and ePathshala are steps in the right direction. Such initiatives should be opened up to all participants willing to contribute and engage.

To ensure that India is completely ready for digital education, this entire ecosystem should be available and functioning smoothly. Another critical element to make it successful is to ensure that people develop the habit of using the systemit is not uncommon to see people with ample digital resources not benefiting from digital education simply because they have not learned how to use it. While some state governments have started with providing low-cost devices to all school students, this needs to be a pervasive act in every nook and corner of the country.

Connectivity is not the only challenge facing digital education. This will also require parents, students and teachers to adapt to their changed roles in the new ecosystem. Parents are often concerned about the negative effect of excessive screen time on their children. Their involvement is necessary to ensure that screen time is regulated, and there should be an appropriate level of control to monitor what content is viewed. Parents must ensure the serious, attentive and engaged participation of their children in digital classrooms. To that extent, the parents themselves becoming digitally literate enough to plan and exercise this control is a pre-requisite.

There is a very big change in the student’s role, since there is little or no supervision in the learn-from-home mode. Developing a high level of self-discipline to complete the prior preparation as well as the post-online-classroom assignments is necessary. It’s is not an easy task, but children will have to develop this capacity.

In this context, it is becoming obvious that teachers will have to play an important role to prepare students for this new situation and to equip parents to fulfil their role in managing the digital education of their children at home. Digital education will not succeed unless there is a mass-scale re-education of teachers and education leaders to handle this transformation effectively. Teaching methods have not changed over centuries and these practices are deep-rooted and persist all over the world. The massive opportunity offered by digital education would require extensive changes in the mindset and practices not just of teachers, but also of the whole community of education administrators, including policy makers, regulators and education leaders.

The COVID-19 situation is forcing us to find new solutions and pushing the limits of how teachers teach, how students learn and how infrastructure is used. At this time, students are bored and teachers are exhausted because we have been caught unprepared. This crisis offers an opportunity we should not miss. An opportunity to study and research the whole space of education to create new models of learning. The unprecedented situation created by COVID-19 has already accelerated movement in these directions and will certainly help students come out successful as independent, disciplined and self-driven tech-enabled learners.

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu calls for bridging digital divide for universal education

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday called for bridging the digital divide to achieve universal primary education and ensure equitable secondary and higher education for students.

His remarks come in the backdrop of several students facing problems attending online classes. Schools across the country are shut as per guidelines issued by the government to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Releasing a book through video conference, Naidu stressed on the need to make technology accessible and affordable, and pointed out that there were many children who did not have access to digital devices. “We will have to address the issue of this wide gap,” he said according to a statement. The vice president pointed out that a large number of students have been impacted due to the lockdown as they found it hard to study online. Many of them need hand holding to shift from offline to online and require proper training to pursue education through online modes, Naidu said, adding that several parents in India still cannot afford digital devices. Bridging the digital divide is too big and complex for the government alone to accomplish, Naidu said urging the private sector, especially educational technology firms, to bring products at affordable prices as per the needs of learners. “This is your time to make a momentous contribution to nation building and to securing a bright future for all our children,” he said.

Quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the vice president said that in the future “online should be main line, so that there is no need for any line”. With educational institutions going digital due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Naidu said students and teachers were connecting through cloud-based platforms to communicate, share work, and complete projects. Urging teachers to impart teaching in tune with the changing requirements, the vice president said students can access machines anytime from anywhere in the wake of online laboratories. “The teacher now plays the role of a facilitator, guide, coach, and many a time that of a friend to the student”, he observed.