Education System Post-COVID-19

Overview

Schools closed, college gates locked, and other educational institutions as well, shut. Out there, that is how the situation is. Of course, we all know why. The COVID-19 pandemic! It has left us all in a state of confusion, and yes, to some extent, despair, and it continues to influence every aspect of our life.

While all of us are trying to combat the situation collaboratively, and individually as well, the concern that confronts us all, right from parents to students, and from educators to other elements of the educational ecosystem, is the future of the education system after COVID-19?

Is it only online education? If that is so, and students are only going to learn through the virtual medium, what about the development of practical skills and technical proficiencies? Is it only concepts that students will learn hereafter? How does the education system battle out the pandemic situation, and come up with innovative solutions that will help build the nation’s future?

Too many questions, isn’t it? Let us explore the answers in the form of possibilities and see how the education sector, which had transformations due for a long time, has an opportunity to reinvent, rejuvenate and revolutionize itself during and after the ongoing pandemic spell.

A lot of the things that we will discuss through this blog are already happening. However, the future is only going to strengthen their existence, application, and relevance.

Online Education

Online education is the first transformation that has happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. For many schools, colleges, and educational institutions, which otherwise showed reluctance to adopt virtual learning, the pandemic has proved a mandate to go online if they’ve got to survive the tough situation.

So, education has gone online now. Schools and colleges conduct lectures and examinations online and also evaluate submissions and assignments online. With over three months of online learning, schools, parents, teachers, and educators seem to be adjusting with the situation and familiarizing themselves with the virtual model of education. However, is that the end of the story? No.

The growth of online education brings a lot of possibilities to the table. One of them is helping the virtual mode of learning penetrate India's interiors, where these facilities yet appear far-fetched.

Students from the rural segment of India neither can go to schools, nor have adequate resources to buy laptops, or dedicated smartphones to attend schools. For them, the situation constitutes a challenge, wherein they want to learn, but cannot do anything about it. In this view, the Indian education system has an excellent opportunity to take online education to the country's rural education space.

It will not only let rural students join the online learning wagon, but also help modern, and a more competitive form of education reach the interiors of the country, which constitutes a treasure of talent.

Globalized Education

Educational institutions too, have a golden opportunity during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve got the chance to improve the online educational infrastructure and match it with the education standards of countries with the most advanced education systems.

How? The possible answer lies in making fundamental structural changes to the curriculum of various subjects and popularizing it to attract students across the world to strengthen India’s position as one of the best and largest educational hubs of the world.

Of course, the road to it is stony, with millions of challenges enroute. However, the opportunities resulting from the efforts are enormous, and which should encourage our educators to go international, and globalize education to develop global competence.

Skill Development

Skill development is a crucial agenda for the country, especially the challenges lying ahead, India’s ambition to become a land of entrepreneurs, and self-employed and self-reliant.

The fundamental changes to the curriculum of various educational streams, especially engineering, are opportunities to incorporate skill development in the regular syllabus. It will help engineering students develop industry-specific skills and become entrepreneurs.

Upgrading Teachers’ Skills

With online education becoming the norm in the days to come, and students becoming increasingly familiar with the online education pattern, teachers will have to step out of their traditional teaching comfort zone and develop online education skills.

It includes creating online videos, conducting live sessions, managing every student present in larger classrooms, conducting online assessments, maintaining online discipline, and code of conduct, encouraging students to ask questions and answering each one of them.

Besides, teachers will have to ensure they don’t just do the job, but engage with students, interact with them, make the session enjoyable, and deliver results.

Online education is here to stay for a long time and will continue even further after the pandemic. So, in a way, the ongoing adversity presents an opportunity for every teacher to align with the future of education, and become competent elements of the modern educational ecosystem.

The Role of Technology

While discussing the future of education post-COVID-19, you cannot ignore or overlook the role of technology. Technology will help teachers provide a personalized experience to students, and students, on the other hand, can get instant feedback on their performance, and suggestions to improve it.

Besides, students will have broader access to various content forms such as videos, audios, presentations, research papers, blogs, etc. which will enhance the learning process and contribute to a better understanding of the subject matter.

Practical Learning

Practical learning is one of the most significant challenges amidst the current pandemic, and after that as well. Regular classroom sessions may not begin for quite some time in the future, and which is a potential impediment to practical learning. On this front, the future demands collaborative research to develop skill development centers across various countries to support skill development.

Educators across a region must come together and develop shareable labs, and research facilities to promote collaborative learning, and progress. Such an initiative will help build research centers on the regional scale, and bolster academic and skill development throughout the region.

Will Regular Classrooms Resume?

Yet, there are no accurate projections in this regard, as we don’t know whether it will happen and if yes, when? While some say, regular classrooms will and must begin, some say, by the time the pandemic situation relieves, online education may become a habit.

Nevertheless, even if regular classrooms begin, schools may arrange for smaller classes, with high standards set for the personal hygiene of students. Perhaps some schools may also follow 50-50, or a 60-40, or a 70-30 pattern, wherein the majority will constitute online classes, and the remaining will form regular classroom sessions. Such a model is already prevalent and termed blended learning.

Conclusion

Being objective while answering what will happen to education after COVID-19 isn’t possible. No matter the projections, the education sector's broadness allows us to envisage the future only through the exploration of possibilities, newer responsibilities, global collaborative approach and opportunities, developing higher standards of education, and so on.

Rest, let us stay positive on the education front, and join hands to strengthen it through collaborations and collective efforts. Let us continue the battle, and let us not stop learning. No matter the medium we will use, we must keep working towards a bright future, and leverage the promise it holds for us.