Online Education: Boon or Bane

India has witnessed the great educationist and scientists like APJ Abdu Kalam, Chanakya, and Savitrabai Phule. It is the divine land with the golden history of hermits (Schools) and priests (Brahman Teachers) like Dronacharya, Pashurama, Mahashri Vishwamitra, and Valmiki. It was the time when the teaching pedagogy was based on listening and practicing on-site within forests. The relation was also purely based on devotion and givingness. But as the time passes by, the hermits turned into Gurukuls and then into Colleges and Schools.

The free education based on lecture method and real-time practicing turned into memory test degree-based systems. The buildings were constructed to support mass education and students were started studying under well-furnished classrooms. As the printing industry flourished, the books were published in large volumes and the old testaments were substituted with course books and best authors. The people became more aware of their ancient culture and values but forgot the essence of it.

 The gradual shift led to the construction of many central and state Universities under the British Colonial Rule. The presence of Sanskrit and regional languages were slowly declined and English had taken the place in academic curriculums. The industrialization and liberalization created jobs for rural India and the urban Indi ran towards the white Collar Jobs. It was the time when higher education was transforming at a high level but primary education was still posing challenges for the government. Thus, the right to education came, and then the right of every child was protected. Though, the urban-rural divide got deeper within the roots of the economy which is coming out stronger in the current situation.

This divide has become a cause of worry for policymakers and educationists as the question arises: are we ready for online education? Is it accessible to all sections of society? Can it substitute classroom teaching? Does it have some psychological effects in the long term? ......these questions are unanswered in a given time but let’s try to understand the complexity of the issue and do understand the dividing lines:

•  Firstly, the current education system is a degree and examination based on the enrolment through the prescribed fee charges and an entrance exam. Online education can give great benefits as it has fewer restrictions and higher reach with less infrastructure cost which ultimately passes benefits to the students.
• Second, the current teaching pedagogy is based on physical books and maintaining huge libraries which makes access unaffordable for many students. The need is to develop e-libraries and provide free remote access to the students with the e-classroom facilities.
• Third, online education facilitates using digital tools for a better learning experience. Thus the examination pattern can be changed from memory-based to task-based based on learning outcome. It will facilitate on the job learning which is provided through companies on entering into the workspace.
• Fourth, memory testing is not creating learning but online education can facilitate simulation tests to effectively find out the effectiveness of course and sessions and understanding level of students.
• Fifth, online education can soon help in getting rid away from degree systems and can be training based to create a more effective workforce and reducing the skill gap.

 Thus, the benefits of an online education system are manifolds but it has some unoccupied challenges too. The greatest challenge is the digital infrastructure and availability of learning devices in every student's hand. Second, the affordability of the medium through which online learning can be foster. The universities either have to invest in building an ERP system or use third party apps which can have a costing factor in the long term. Third, the adoption and training of teachers at ground level, a national level training initiative must be launch on designing of course material and handing of ICT products to remove the barriers at the teaching level. Fourth, the inability of considering extracurricular activities while assessing the students in the online course based system. Fifth, the data privacy laws and hindrances in managing volumes of data created through this mode. Sixth, the recognition of these courses and the acceptance in the job market as the recruiters still demand a full-time degree as a requirement.

There is a bridge between degree and skills that can only be reduced by fostering effective skill-based education to nurture our workforce talent. It’s the need that the government should increase its spending on education and focus on developing a hybrid education model. The focus must be on increasing GER and increasing grants and scholarships to facilitate research and development. It should also focus on the need of providing affordable digital access and empowering learners for connect2skill. There are forces of change in the environment that need to be adapt to the right intervention and make online education a boon, not a bane.