Online education is not a new concept in India. Prior to the virus outbreak, it was more popular in the form of distance learning and open schooling. And broadcast services like the Doordarshan and All India radio conducted educational programs for students outside the physical premises of educational institutions.
According to the National Education Policy 2020, India will have the maximum number of students by the next decade. And our level of education will largely determine our country’s future in the years to come.
What is Online Education?
Online education is a way of delivering education digitally using the internet through a virtual learning interface.
In the coming future, the online learning concept would eliminate textbooks, physical classrooms, and red-tapism from the society. Institutions switch to virtual learning mode to initiate their long-distance learning programs where the educators can teach students from any place in the world. The whole online teaching process is supported by a group of digital assets like online learning apps, management systems, video conferencing applications, and many more.
These learning methodologies are comprised of various benefits that help the students in the long and short run.
Below are the three major benefits of online learning:
Accessibility: The major and most important characteristic of this concept is that it is accessible to anyone who owns a smart device that supports internet connectivity. Irrespective of time, date, and location, the student can go ahead with an exceptional learning experience. There are several tools for educators available, that help them in imparting an innovative learning experience to the students.
Productivity: It makes the learner more productive as it uses adaptive technologies and saves travel time for the students. Hence, if online learning assets are utilized in the appropriate method, it can turn out beneficial for the learners.
Efficiency: Online learning is more efficient than offline schooling in terms of effectiveness, affordability, accessibility, time consumption, and education quality. According to the analysis, most of the students around the world preferred digital education over offline during the year 2020.
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Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Education
Post the pandemic, online education came out to be a full-fledged medium. And it immensely helped to retain students within the mainstream system. In addition, it has also transformed the ways of teaching and learning within our institutions. And for the first time in India, full-fledged school education is now available through online platforms. Today, this new trend of digital schooling and homeschooling is picking up pace in the urban centers of our nation. And in the years to come, it is expected to be a booming industry across the country.
Keeping the current challenges in mind, we require a better educational structure to support our students. And online education is one such medium that can help our country with its flexible and student-centric structure.
How is Online Learning Helping Us?
Let’s explore more about online education in India & figure out how it is helping us to overcome our challenges and meet the long-term goals:
1. Urban-Rural Divide
Our country is the second most populated country in the world. And its urban-rural divide is one of the biggest stumbling blocks in its progress. In India, a villager earns half of the income of the urban peer. And schools in rural India fail to provide quality education due to their poor infrastructure and lack of trained teachers.
It is a reality that many Indian students do not have access to high-quality education. And their geographical location is one of the biggest barriers to good quality education.
Apart from several other challenges, our traditional classroom programs also do not match the global standards. As a result, half of our student population (primary level) struggles to achieve grade-appropriate learning levels.
Online education can resolve all these challenges related to educational equity. And it’s student-centric format can help learners from marginalized backgrounds to avail the benefits of quality education without spending extra.
2. EdTech Market is Booming
In the past couple of years, educational startups took off at a lightning quick speed in India. And they also saw accelerated growth during the shutdowns. In the year 2020, ‘BYJUS‘ was the highest valued Education Technology company in India, (value of 12 billion US dollars).
In the recovery phase of the pandemic, the EdTech industry is still a supportive pillar to address the gaps in our system. And it is now considered an active sector for investors.
3. A New Way of Learning to Meet the Long-term Goals
The Sustainable Development targets for 2030 focus on enhancing skills and improving the lives of Indian citizens. However, our existing system is not fully equipped to realize all these long-term goals. Our policymakers have aptly acknowledged the importance of online education to address the needs of Indian students. Because this new way of teaching and learning also prepares our students for global citizenship.
Today, we have fully online colleges established under renowned universities that offer online degree programs and courses (correspondence learning). Moreover, our country now has 100% digital schooling platforms available from kindergarten to post-secondary stages of education.
4. Virtual Learning Has a Wider Choice of Subjects
The online learning movement offers a wider choice of subjects for Indian learners. They can now choose better quality education at more affordable costs. This option connects them with the best universities and educational institutions in the world. And they can now be a part of their dream institution across the globe.
Virtual learning has eliminated barriers like location and time. And all this is now available with additional advantages of flexibility and pacing. In a country like ours, digital classrooms can allow better learning outside the vicinity of physical institutions. And these are even more affordable than any traditional educational institution.
5. The Cost of Education
Online education in India also offers respite from the challenges related to the cost of education. We already know that Indian parents end up spending massively for their child’s education. The cost of books, school supplies, and transportation contributes a major chunk in these sky-high expenses.
Not all families have the means to afford the programs offered by top universities and schools. But with this paradigm shift of online learning, parents can now save considerably. With online learning, students need not commute to distant locations just to attend classes. And this saves a lot of time and money that can be used elsewhere more productively. This new trend of learning can bridge the gaps between the various sections of our society. And the capable students from the marginalized groups can find the much-needed educational equity right within the system.
Online distance education programs are cost-effective and environment-friendly. During the pandemic, top institutions across the world joined hands to help the worldwide student community. And our Indian students made the most of it by accessing high-quality online content, free of any charge.
6. India Is All Set to Mitigate the Pitfalls of Online Education
Our recent education policy highlights a visionary plan to strengthen the base for online learning. The government has planned to improve the teacher readiness for online teaching. And is committed to eliminate the digital divide through its ‘Digital India’ campaign. Our Indian policymakers are equally concerned about creating an alternative educational mode. Because the struggles of our traditional mediums during the pandemic highlighted the need to have a more resilient and accessible educational structure.
Concluding Words:
Virtual learning is a good start that has a long way to go! Our Indian stakeholders are on the right path of improving the opportunities through this new normal. Hopefully, the years to come will make India at par with the global leaders. And online education will be the biggest game-changer in materializing this dream for us!
