COVID-19 - A Boom in Education or a Landslide ?

"We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."  - Winston Churchill

In these perilous times of tragic, suffering and loss one can only find solace and peace amidst Unity, we as a nation have to unite and fight with an iron heart and soul against the pandemic which engulfed the entire world in the dark clouds of malady of a contagious virus.   

30th of January 2020- The Black Day for Indians, when the novel Corona-virus first set its ground in India and since then it has been spreading its roots like wildfire, be it the demographics or the economy, the pandemic has weakened the knees of our nation, but is our Golden Bird really shackled by the chains of misery or is there a new dawn for it to fly in? 

The answer lies in one ordinary nine-lettered word having a meaning broader than the horizon and deeper than an ocean - "EDUCATION"

On 25th of March, 2020 the Indian Government imposed its 1st of the Three Phases of nation-wide Lock-down, marring the grandiose merits of practical learning from schools/colleges/universities, the step being a necessary evil left us to resort to the only medium of learning - "Online Education" 

                                          

The big question right now in front of us is that - Do we have a proper infrastructure to support online education across the country ?

Lets look at some facts first, having a whopping population of over 1.4 billion with 65% occupying the rural geography it is astonishing that out of the 35% of urban population approximately 21% have daily access to internet and in rural areas the numbers see a further drop rate to 15%. So it might come to one's mind that is online education really helping the students or are they missing out on their only chance to learn?

Thankfully, the PM eVidya - One Nation One Digital Platform initiative came to the rescue with its goal to enable widespread access to online education :-

   

Although the infrastructure to provide online education is improving with each passing day it is paramount to discuss the implications of the current quality and state of education in the country.

Throughout the nation the increased usage rate in the video calling platform- google meet and google classroom right from the elementary level of education to the elite and advanced level have paved a way for creating a more tech savvy Gen X particularly the teachers alongside Gen Y and Gen Z who would be more adept in handling the next Gen demand of a digital world, moreover the opportunity of getting one information on one platform where they could take digital notes as well as have an animated visualization of certain theoretical concepts in turn would broaden their creativity and imagination. Despite the benefits, there in fact are certain variables in education which play a crucial factor in explaining certain concepts, shaping an individual's personality which unfortunately cannot be taught online. These are mostly social interactions with fellow peers and colleagues, online education though providing manifold benefits lacks in developing the interactive and emotional education of an individual which can only be developed properly in an offline setup furthermore certain discipline which are practical in nature such as Management,Medical,Engineering have been highly hindered due to the advent of online education as at the current pace of technology and the highly demanding on the field experience of these fields makes it challenging to impart its knowledge online.

In the end it all comes down to converge at probably the most difficult question which one might have at present - 

"What is the Road Ahead? Is online Education the New Normal?"

Hopefully the Unlock Phases of the Nationwide Lock-down might be carrying the answer to it but the prediction from the current hypotheses of online education with relation to the rising COVID cases may skew towards continuity in its online trend.