How the face of learning and education has changed in 2020

Learning and Education

It has been a year of tremendous ups and lows for the entire world. 2020 has shown us the good, bad and ugly of life. At this time of the year, just like every year, last year too, the world wished each other ‘A Happy New Year’ and celebrated the inception of the fresh year 2020. But the last year of the decade phased out to be full of challenges as it brought along the pandemic Covid 19 in Feb. By Mar the seriousness of the deadly virus caused the world to shut down social and business activities. Schools, colleges and all educational institutions shut their operations, sending millions of students home. The repercussions on the education sector was a change due to the non-availability of contact sessions for students. Just like at many workplaces, employers arranged to send laptops and desktops at home for their employees to continue uninterrupted, similarly, the education sector also saw institutions moving to online education methodology.

Use of Technology for Learning

While some schools could afford to give fancy gadgets to their students, some students from urban areas themselves could appraise their standards of learning with the use of laptops and tablets. These mobile gadgets in the hands of students, be in tiny hands of toddlers to mature hands of college degree perusing students, all held their learning in their palms and laps.  But on the other hand, there were a number of students, especially from rural areas who were not having the technology access and therefore the privilege of online learning. According to an article in Business Insider, Aug 2020, only 24% of Indian households possess smartphones, while 11.5% of households have a computer with an Internet connection. 

Online education also saw its own challenges and opportunities. It cannot be disputed that classroom interactions hold their own value in the intellectual and social development of a child. Wonder how would a child feel sitting in the comfort of his home and family and be connected with his classmates and teacher on a video call! Personally, I feel that this is passive listening and learning and not active participation which a child can give in an online education scenario.

Just like students faced challenges, teachers also faced a sudden change in the manner of teaching. Online teaching cannot replicate a physical class and hence teachers have to innovate their ways of teaching. How would a teacher teaching art, craft, science experiment, physical exercises, dance, music ever relate to a child and teach a child doing complete justice in an online world?

Virtual school and college also mean digital homework as well as digital play. Here there is no question of parents prying of fighting for their children to get exposed to less screen time. Since in this case students of all ages by default get exposed to the screen for a certain duration every day for the purpose of continuing education. 

Just like the cons, the pros of online education are also something to focus on. Online education was a face-saving move for millions of students who were losing education year due to the lockdown. Additionally, the number of subjects, topics and the opportunity to meet and learn from global teachers is huge in case of online learning. The pace and time at which students can choose to learn enhance lifestyle comfort and reduces the burden and compulsion of learning. 

Another developmental move from the government of India was passing the National Education Policy 2020. The new education policy was setup after a span of 34 years and has given hopes and promises of revolutionary moves the education sector in India. 

The policy highlights changes in the entire education pattern changing it from 10+2 to 5+3+3+4. It gives due importance to teacher education sector development. It also talks significantly of the importance of arts, music and culture in school education. The goal is to have 100% children of India ‘school-ready’ by 2030 and enhancing the standards of language, literacy and numeracy of all children to make them capable to face the world.

According to a KPMG report, in India, 280 million students are expected to be enrolled in school by 2021 and online test preparation is going to rise by 64% in the next 5 years. 

These moves clearly show where the world is heading and how India is catching pace. Yes there are cons to online education, however, if we look at how we can use it effectively and exploit it to our benefit, I believe it can change the face of education and bring India close to competing with global educational standards.