The concept of traditional education has changed radically within the last couple of years. Being physically present in a classroom isn’t the only learning option anymore — not with the rise of the internet and new technologies, at least. Nowadays, you have access to a quality education whenever and wherever you want, as long as you have access to a computer. We are now entering a new era — the revolution of online education. There’s no need to discount the skepticism surrounding education through the internet. It’s hard to understand the notion of leaving behind the conventional classroom, especially if it's to face this vast space called The Internet.
since the COVID -19 pandemic has disrupted the normal lifestyle of people across the globe, the virtual world has come to the rescue. Amongst many institutions schools have also shifted their base to virtual platforms to conduct classes online. Consequently, catering to the needs of all stages of education from pre-primary to university level, online education has emerged as an alternative to ordinary face-to-face classes. Accordingly, various stakeholders such as government and private organizations are trying their best to assist each other by sprucing up their existing online platforms, apps and providing training to teachers to use these apps and platforms to the optimum level. Moreover, efforts are being made by both government and non-government organizations and edtech companies to support the school system to make a smooth transition to the virtual world. Upskilling and motivating teachers, organizing counseling sessions for stakeholders such as teachers, parents, and students are some of the important measures taken by the administration in the recent past. Making a continuous effort to provide customized teaching-learning material suitable for online classes is another way of facilitating the schooling of children. The Central government has recently launched the PM e-VIDYA platform, with 12 new DTH channels, one for each class to reach out to all strata of society. These efforts have proved beneficial to a sizable chunk of the school-going population.
No matter how simple technology or plan is being used to provide education to all, some of the children will remain left out during critical situations due to multiple causes such as poverty, migration, family problems, and so on. The education system is destined to face an array of issues post-Covid. These range from a new burden on Government schools due to the influx of students from low fee private schools as many of them will no longer be able to afford to pay for education due to financial constraints to psycho-social problems of children arising out of problems at home. All these hardships are going to affect children immensely. Given the above, the government should come forward with a policy perspective on the post-Covid response to education. This should entail a plan to address the specific academic needs and psycho-social needs of children once they return to school as well as strategies to mitigate Covid induced issues related to the management of schools, addressing emerging learning gaps among children, and training of teachers to use principles of blended learning flipped classroom. Such plans that clarify where to use low as well as high tech educational solutions which will prepare also prepare the government to combat any post-Covid crisis such as conflict, natural disaster or for that matter pollution.
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