Impact of COVID-19 on Higher Education: Challenges and Solutions in the Indian context

At the start of this year, the world began to face a rare illness, which originating from Wuhan, China, rapidly engulfed the whole world. This rare illness, with its symptoms close to pneumonia, converted into an epidemic and soon a pandemic. India is ranked number three at the time of writing this article with close to 7 lakh total cases. The silver lining is that the recovery rate is nearly 60 percent, and the fatality rate is 2.8 percent, which is much better when you consider poor health infrastructure, less GDP contribution to health, and overburdening population (Source: Hindustan Times).

India implemented one of the harshest lockdowns across the country from March 25 to control the virus spread. The lockdown that spanned over 60 days put a halt to all physical movement of citizens across the country.

The consequences begin to show in postponement and later country-wide cancellation of CBSE, ICSE, and all state board exams of class 10 and 12. As the situation worsened, the even semester exam in Universities and colleges were also canceled. The students in the final semester at premier institutes like IITs were graduated without their final exams. Entrance exams for medical, engineering and law colleges were postponed indefinitely. The physical classes in colleges and Universities have been suspended since the lockdown. The hostels have been vacated to check the pandemic. No physical classroom sessions are going on in schools too.

But where do we go from here? What are the options for higher education in India? And what should be our course of action?

Online exams: As we know that online admission exams started long back, and many entrance exams like NEET are conducted online in the country. Common Admission Test (CAT) for admission to the IIMs is the leader in organizing online admission tests. Many have followed suit, but the overburdening population, lack of computer literacy, and lack of IT infrastructure make it difficult for many others to go online. Lack of cybersecurity also drives away ordinary citizens from the online fee-payment system. But all institutions must switch to a computer-based examination system. Online testing and assessments are the future, and COVID-19 has only expedited this process.

Regular courses: I will further divide it into two sections - one where a practical laboratory is required and another where the practical laboratory is not required. Since it is still uncertain when the academic session would begin, the universities and colleges should be thinking about including online classes into the academic calendar. If there is a requirement of a practical laboratory, the lab sessions may be delivered at the fag-end. The syllabus should be curtailed to accommodate the short academic session. The ministry of Human Resource Development has already curtailed the syllabus of class 9 to 12 by about one-third. The courses where there is no need for a practical laboratory, the students should be given the option to choose from a completely online mode and a “hybrid” mode. The focus should be on developing training/course content that could be delivered in an online mode.

Professional courses: Regarding the programs like hotel management, engineering, polytechnics, architecture, etc. the practical classes along with theory is a must. These courses cannot be and should not be delivered entirely in an online mode. At such institutes, the class strength may be divided into two or more shifts to maintain social distancing. Wherever it is not possible, extra teachers and classrooms may be arranged so that students can learn freely. Technologies like AI, simulation, and virtual reality can also be integrated into the teaching and learning process.

Physical classroom: Physical classroom should make way for the virtual classroom. Interacting with peers and faculty members within the boundary of a classroom or a cozy office in a lush green University campus may be a thing of the past. Brick and mortar institutions would increasingly vanish, and we would see the advent of smart and e-institutions. It might reduce the cost of education due to a decrease in overhead costs of running massive physical structures and facilities.

Virtual learning platforms: For many years, government institutions like IITs and NCERT have been running EDUSAT classes, free of cost for the students. But they lacked promotion and awareness. Similarly, MOOCs have existed for a long time, but they never really took off. However, since COVID-19, we have seen a spurt in the usage of virtual platforms like Zoom, Webex, Google Meet, and MS Teams. Schools and colleges are using these platforms to deliver online classes. Providing training to principals, faculty members, and students to use these platforms better can increase the effectiveness of online classes. The need of the hour is to improve the quality of online education and portals dramatically, to increase their value proposition.

Lastly, one big question remains as to how to ensure the same learning outcomes even in an online mode. It would call for more innovation in the content and the methodology. Technological advancements, like AI, would accelerate the process of innovation in online teaching and learning. Using a blended or hybrid model that combines elements of live interaction with a mentor or amongst peers, project work, and field assignments, along with the online training, would help in improving the learning outcomes. Medha has taken a similar stride towards the blended mode of training delivery of its program. We have also revised our content, making it relevant in the “new normal.”

Every crisis is also an opportunity. COVID-19 pandemic has provided us an opportunity to overhaul our education system. It is high time we leveraged our IT capabilities to rebuild an education system that is well-suited for the knowledge economy. India can be world leaders in education once again, bringing back the times of Taxila and Nalanda of the past.

- The author, Aditya Kumar, was working with Medha as an Area Manager supervising its Program at Kurukshetra University. The above-mentioned views are personal, and the viewpoint of the author