Online classes – heralding the long awaited revival

Among many things, COVID-19 has slapped priorities straight around the world and a lot of aspects that were formerly overlooked have now been thrust into the periphery of our conscience. The necessity for the education system to be prepared for unprecedented challenges like this one is one such aspect. In the past year, the education system in the country has survived what it has never as much as fathomed before – the complete absence of students in well furbished campuses, but the necessity to keep the routine intact without a hitch. The very idea of schools and colleges has been shifted from tangible space to a virtual space where the framework of educational directives was rickety, unreliable and in rural areas, unexplored. How the drastic transition from offline to online classes has shouldered the education system in the country from complete collapse is no short of a wonder. A tiny ray of hope amidst the chaos has been the way education system has embraced technology and taken a leap ahead in terms of digitization. At this point, education has turned out to be the major element bridging the digital divide in India. Concerns ranging from network unavailability in rural areas to unaffordable digital devices came to limelight, bringing big and small patrons to the sector who have aided in empowering the digitization of education. Newer technology that facilitates mass dissemination of information and quality content made accessible for reasonable prices are other notable developments. The internet has seen a drastic upsurge in usage based on educational purposes which quite surely infers the colossal shift of the educational sector into the virtual space – thus redefining the traditional modes of teaching and learning. There is still a long way to go, but online classes that students have attended spread out on couches and munching on snacks have in fact heralded a renaissance. Online learning is here to stay; and with the right kind of visionary and inventive management aids, institutions in India can channel the change in order to catalyze the efficiency of the education system.