e-Learning in India

IN NEWS:

The Global Education Monitoring Report 2020, published by UNESCO, has noted that the Covid 19 pandemic may have worsened inequalities in education systems across the world, especially in low- and lower-middle-income countries such as India.

EDUCATION IN INDIA:

• India is home to the largest and most complex education system in the world. As per the 2011 census, literacy rate in India is found to be 74.04%.
  • The female literacy level according to the 2011 census is at 65.46% whereas the male literacy rate is 82.14%.
  • The literacy levels are 66% among the scheduled caste population and 59% among the scheduled tribes.

CHALLENGES IN SCHOOL EDUCATION:

• Objective of Education: Education in most schools is one-dimensional, with an obsessive focus on rote learning and marks. Very little focus is given on improving learning outcomes, as is evident from the latest ASER report.
• Low public spending: The present spending on education is at 4.6% of GDP, which is far less than the desired level of 6 % of GDP. Also, as per UNESCO data, India has one of the lowest public expenditure rates on education per student.
• Student-Teacher Ratio:  While in developed countries this ratio stands at 11.4, in case of India, it is as high as 22.0. Coupled with issues like lack of sufficient teacher training institutes, aversion to rural schools and deploying teachers for non-educational activities like Census collection, quality of education takes a serious step backwards.
• Language barriers: India being a diverse country with over 22 official languages and over 1500 languages as “mother tongue” means that primary education can never be easy. Getting teachers to understand and communicate in a “mother tongue” and yet teach in official language is a difficult task.
• Literacy levels: According to 2011 census, literacy in India is 74.04%. In other words, nearly a quarter of parents are still illiterate. Their motivation to send their child to school or to monitor their child in school is low. This is demonstrated through irregular student attendance, low learning levels, and dropouts.
• Lack of basic Infrastructure: There is lack of essential infrastructure including washroom facilities, clean water, classrooms etc which creates severe distraction.
• Outdated Curriculum: The syllabus and mode of teaching in most schools have not been revised in the past decade. Limited avenues are provided for skill training, vocational education and modern methods like smart classrooms and interactive learning.

DIGITAL EDUCATION:

• Digital education is the innovative use of digital tools and technologies during teaching and learning, and is often referred to as Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) or e-Learning.

BENEFITS OF DIGITAL EDUCATION:

• Affordability: Online education is more cost effective than regular learning. It helps students who cannot afford regular schooling to accomplish their dream without spending a fortune on education. Open resources allow students access to an extensive array of study material fostering an ecosystem of free learning.
• Accessibility: Online mode breaks all barriers in terms of the digital, demographic or geographic divide. High-quality education can be made accessible to every nook and corner of the country, making it easily accessible for all classes of the society. 
• Flexibility: With online learning, students can learn at their own pace. Lessons and lectures can be recorded, stored and played back, ensuring nothing gets missed. Students also benefit from the huge repository of reference material and learning tools available online to supplement their learning.
• Better learning outcomes: Through hands-on activities and 'learning by doing', students understand concepts better and become more curious in the process. Also, the advent of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality has massively impacted the efficiency of e-learning. Also, they help in evaluating education outcomes on an individual level, thereby making it is possible to design ‘student-centred courses’ to impart education.
• Globalized learning, maximized exposure: With the internet and online classrooms, it has become possible for students to communicate with students from other parts of the world. It connects them with educators across the globe, making it easy to expand the exposure of young minds.
• Overcome infrastructural and manpower shortcomings: E-learning eliminates the need for heavy infrastructures such as classrooms and allied facilities. Also, e-learning ensures that issues such as teacher absenteeism and teacher pupil ratio can be addressed effectively.

CHALLENGES TO DIGITAL EDUCATION IN INDIA:

• Technological barrier: Most e-learning programs are designed for high-speed internet and modern computers devices. However, according to the Internet and Mobile Association of India report, Internet penetration in India stands at a mere 40%. Many schools lack facilities like smart classrooms and labs to organise online classes, while students lack amenities to attend them.
• Digital divide: Within this 40% with access to internet, there is a wide gender disparity and rural-urban divide.

• Linguistic barrier:  Most of the content is often not available in vernacular languages. This is a major barrier for students, especially at the primary and secondary levels.
• Difficulty in adapting: Teachers and students may find it difficult to adapt to the new environment. For eg: Teachers may need to rethink their basic tenets of education, redesign their teaching methodologies so that it goes hand in hand with the technology.
• Security and privacy: Digital learning exposes children to the vast space of internet. Hence, they become easy targets for cyber criminals. Also, the use of internet-based systems in a largely digitally illiterate population poses threats to individual privacy and national security.

DRAWBACKS OF DIGITAL LEARNING:

• Social and cultural isolation: Schools are not just a place for learning but a space for social interactions. In traditional classrooms, teachers can give students immediate face-to-face feedback. Schools also play a key role in developing communication skills. However, e-learning tends to make participating students undergo contemplation, remoteness and a lack of interaction.
• Lack of motivation: In traditional classrooms, there are numerous factors such as face-to-face communication with teachers, peer-to-peer activities, and strict schedules which constantly push students towards their learning goals. However, in the online environment, students are left to fend for themselves during their learning activities.
• Excess exposure to screen time: Online classes can lead to increased exposure to screens for children, which can affect adversely. Upwards of 4 hours in front of a computer screen, listening, absorbing and learning may not bode well for the mind or body.
• Pressure on family: Supervision by parents forms an important part in e learning, especially for young children. However, parents are finding it difficult to balance their day-to-day activities with that of their child’s academics. For eg: In nuclear families, parents might have to miss work to take care of their children.
• Authenticity: There are many websites that offer online courses without authentic accreditation or quality content. The authenticity of a student's work is also a problem as just about anyone can do an exam/project rather than the actual student itself.

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES:

• National Mission on Education through ICT (NMEICT): It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to leverage the potential of ICT, in teaching and learning process for the benefit of all the learners in Higher Education Institutions in any time anywhere mode.

• PM eVidya programme: It is a programme to promote digital education in the country and make e- learning feasible for students and teachers. It includes:
  • DIKSHA (one nation-one digital platform)-nation’s digital infrastructure for providing quality e-content in school education for all the states/UTs.
  • TV (one class-one channel) where one dedicated channel per grade for each of the classes 1 to 12 will provide access to quality educational material.
  • SWAYAM MOOCs format for school and higher education.
  • IITPAL for IITJEE/NEET preparation.
  • Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY) for the differently abled
  • Manodarpan initiative: to provide psychosocial support to students, teachers and families for mental health and emotional wellbeing.
  • Expanding e-learning in higher education: Top 100 universities will start online courses. Also, online component in conventional Universities and ODL programmes will also be raised from present 20% to 40%.
  • National Curriculum and Pedagogical Framework: To promote critical thinking, creative and communication skills, along with experiential and joyful learning for the students focusing on learning outcomes.
• Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM): It is an indigenous IT platform for hosting the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The platform facilitates hosting of all the courses, taught in classrooms from 9th class till post-graduation to be accessed by anyone, anywhere at any time. Professors of centrally funded institutions like IITs, IIMs, central universities will offer online courses.
• Swayam Prabha: It is a group of 32 DTH channels devoted to telecasting of high-quality educational programmes on 24x7 basis using the GSAT-15 satellite. The channels cover higher education, school education and assist the students (class 11th & 12th) prepare for competitive exams.
• Operation Digital Board: It is an initiative to leverage technology in order to boost quality education in the country. It aims at converting a class room into a digital class room and provide e-resources at any time and at any place to students. It will be introduced all over the country in government and government aided schools from class 9th onwards as well as in higher education institutions.
• National Digital Library of India: The NDLI is an all-digital library that stores information about different types of digital contents including books, articles, videos, audios, thesis and other educational materials relevant for users from varying educational levels and capabilities. It provides a single-window search facility so that learners can retrieve the right resources with the least effort in minimum time.
• Shodhganga: It is the repository developed to contain an electronic copy of all M.Phil/Ph.D thesis to make it accessible to all institutions. It also provides access to Indian theses and dissertations in open access to world-wide academic community and making visibility of Indian research to other countries.
• Diksha Portal: It is a portal created by the Ministry of HRD and National Council for Teacher Education. It will enable all teachers across nation to be equipped with advanced digital technology. It will help teachers to create training content, profile, in-class resources, assessment aids, news and announcement and connect with teacher community.
• e-PG Pathshala: It is a portal under which quality, curriculum based, interactive content in different subjects across all disciplines of social sciences, arts, fine arts & humanities, natural & mathematical sciences, linguistics and languages is being developed. MHRD, has assigned the UGC for development of e-content in 68 subjects at postgraduate level.
• Samarth: It is an e-governance platform that provide information to strengthen the productivity through better information management. It caters faculties and students by providing different study modules.
• Besides these, the draft education policy, 2019 also calls for promotion of e-learning in India.

WAY FORWARD:

• Blended model: Digital platforms are not an alternative to traditional education system. Once the world opens back up again, institutes should keep the value added to education provided by online tools and work towards developing ‘blended models’ of learning which provide the right balance of both.
• PPP models for investments: According to the KPMG report, by 2021, the online education industry in India will witness a growth of about 6 times. However, to sustain this, investments from both government and a multitude of local and global players are essential. For the same, the government can prospect PPP models.
• Develop infrastructure: A robust internet ecosystem and specialised equipment such as digital white-boards, video-conferencing systems, multimedia systems will help online learning make further inroads.
• Readjust and recalibrate: There should be efforts to develop a band of trained educators and content developers. The syllabus, course contents and assessment methods should be revised to suit the online modes.
• Regulation and Accreditation: If E-Learning is to be considered as effective and authentic as traditional learning, it must be ensured that all online schools and institutions are effectively regulated and accredited.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. Critically examine the prospect of replacing conventional classroom learning with e-learning?