The world is reeling under the onslaught of COVID-19 as the pandemic, originating from China, has wreaked havoc in all the countries impacting every aspect of life.  Apart from the world economy that has been plunged into a crisis, the shutting down of schools, colleges and universities mean that the pandemic has jeopardised the future of every country.  

The education sector is coming to terms with new ways of learning.  Classrooms have shifted to homes as students and teachers stick to virtual interactions. It is a paradigm shift in the way the new generation is being raised and it remains to be seen if it is a temporary aberration or becomes a permanent way of imparting education.

The transition to the new system is abrupt as a result of which it is accompanied by teething troubles and uncertainties leading to disruptions. The crisis occurred in the middle of India's Board examinations. The fate of students in class X and XII will offset the progression of students to higher classes. The class X students can be promoted without waiting for the results, but for the class XII students, it is time to make career choices. They will have to face entrance examinations for professional courses or await board results to get admission into regular degree colleges. It has offset the entire admission process.  There is a big question mark if the entrance examinations for the engineering or medical colleges will be held online.  

Schools everywhere have quickly switched to e-learning software developed and promoted both by the government and private entities. To begin with, free access is being given students to tide over this period of crisis. However, these software (like Swayam, e-Pathshala, e-Basta, Rashtriya Madhamik Shiksha Abhiyan, Skil India, and Digital India) are revisionary lessons and supplement teaching. 

The need of the hour is to focus on the capability and utility of online education.  The e-learning process holds immense promise and should not be abandoned once the coronavirus crisis is over. 

Amit Dasgupta, India Country Director of UNSW, Sydney,  in a recent interaction with South Asia Monitor on the future of education in the post-pandemic era, said that when there is a crisis of this magnitude a rapid response is called for.  He said that UNSW is already re-engaging teachers and students in the aftermath of this crisis and the switch to online education as soon as possible so that pedagogy and learning are not disrupted. Internet usage is already at an all-time high. with extensive use of computers, laptops, I-pads by today's very high-tech savvy youngsters. 

A few degrees and diploma courses are already being imparted by private universities with recognition of the University Grants Commission (UGC). However,  the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has still not adjusted to the new normal.  Getting proper recognition by the UGC or other regulatory bodies for the online courses would be one of the challenges to overcome. The transition from traditional to e-learning would have a huge impact on the cost of education.

In traditional methods,  one has to maintain physical infrastructure in terms of huge campuses and support staff.  Some expensive schools provide air-conditioned buses, classrooms, and other facilities at a cost. On the contrary, e-learning means no such overheads.  

India's Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, in a recent interview to Hindustan Times, said that e-learning provides wider opportunities, flexibility, uniform delivery and reusability of quality content apart from saving time.  

Virtual schools can operate software like Zoom, Microsoft Teams and others that allow conferencing of more than 100 at a time. But one aspect that cannot go online is the practical work in laboratories. This would have to be done in the traditional way. However, to make this transition smooth and safe the stakeholders need to think out of the box.

A study by KPMG and Google said that online education has five major categories: online certification, primary and secondary supplemental education, test preparation, higher education, and language and casual learning. The online certification holds a 38 percent market share of the e-learning sector at the moment. Primary and secondary supplemental education is expected to witness a boom with an expected enrolment of 280 million students by 2021. The test preparation category is also expected to grow fast and so is high education. For India, informal learning has been one of the biggest markets. 

The report mentions that India has a multi-layered formal education system with 260 million students enrolled in more than 1.5 million schools and 39,000 colleges catering to 27.5 million undergraduate and four million postgraduate students.  The report also said that India’s informal education market is one of the largest in the world. The pre-primary market has low entry barriers and has witnessed a large number of players in the last few years.

Presence of a large young working population and skilled workers is instrumental in the prominent growth of vocational education in India. Test preparation contributes a significant share of informal education in India’s online education market which is expected to grow to $ 9.6 billion by 2021.  Improved internet connectivity and the adoption of digital payment options have significantly aided in the growth of online education in India.   

The Indian government appears alive to the emergingchallenges. While   HRD Minister Pokhriyal backed e-learning, Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the work from home will become the new norm and his ministry will support the development of home infrastructure.  

With such government-supported initiatives towards a technology-driven and -leveraged communication culture, the day seems to be not very far when one will see a paradigm shift in education - from a brick-and-mortar education to a click-and-portal one. 

(The writer is a retired chief manager (IT),  Bank of Maharashtra and IT Consultant, National Board of Accreditation. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted ashimkg@hotmail.com)