Fine-blending the means and modes of education to take up Covid challenge

Naveen Kumar

Academic scenario during the ongoing pandemic has proved Viktor E. Frankl right again when he says, “An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behaviour”. At a time when all of our individual, social, public, economic, religious and academic activities are driven by the prevailing abnormal situation, over reliance on technology-mediated instructions has been proving an abnormal reaction equally. Online teaching, no doubt allows for innovative methods and help reaching out to the students across the regions, but it is not without disadvantages of its own. It takes time, practice and skill training to deliver and this mode is highly prone to multiple communication barriers at the same time.

The ‘have not’ side of the digital and economic divide becomes too distressing when it is being neglected and over sighted in the mainstream discourse and expert considerations. A recent news story brought to surface the plight of a poor Himachal Pradesh family which sold its only cow to get their children a smart phone required for the online classes. Alas, the poor cow was worth only one device. Poor data connectivity, deficient network in rural and commercially unviable areas, recurring cost and lack of dedicated learning space in households are just a few other things that add to the problem.

Detailed textual study material and instructions have been wickedly neglected over the crazy onslaught of videos lectures. Text directly complements writing, an ability which is evaluated in almost all types of examinations from early school to the university system. So much so that students of subjects like Fine arts and Music, too, have to write almost an equal number of examinations as the students of science. Same is the case with languages as subjects are tested only on the basis of written examination and zero emphasis is laid upon the spoken aspect.

This makes a case in favour of written or printed material with a need to adopt a more liberal approach towards examination with acceptance of multiple modes and formats.

A recent survey conducted by the NCERT highlights that more than 35 per cent of students of the schools like KVs still rely upon text books. This number will certainly be much higher in case of the state government schools which cater to the underprivileged communities and economically deprived regions.

One third of the students and parents have found that online education is either difficult or burdensome. It also reveals about the students’ struggle to assume virtual classroom as real and flags the need for a remedial mechanism which most states have failed to provide as only 6 out of 38 states and UTs have taken steps to take care of the children’s mental and physical well being since the enforcement of the lockdown. This is why a number of influential voices are pitching for the opening of educational institutions. The latest one to join the campaign is of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist of WHO.

Students’ Learning Enhancement Guidelines issued by the NCERT have a far matured approach to deal with the situation than has been adopted as a kneejerk reaction so far.

These guidelines emphasize the need for educational portals, video channels, e-books, free educational apps, the home delivery of worksheets, workbooks, creating community learning centres, involvement of local bodies such as Panchayati Raj Institutions and volunteer teachers at community level to reach out to all sections, including those with no or limited access to the technology. There is still need of large-scale distribution of offline digital content with viable and economic choices such as widely supported memory cards with pre-loaded content. Notwithstanding the provisions and efforts, the implementation of these guidelines is going to be a challenging task.

However, the most surprising trend is increasing demand for personal tuitions despite all the technological alternates available, including the subscription of costly interactive apps.

This unorganised and highly localised tuition industry is fast flourishing within the neighbourhoods and localities without getting highlighted in public discourse or media coverage.

It is the outcome of the hazardous overexposure to the virtual setup. Nevertheless, it is a pretty normal response to the situation which proves again that humans are bequeathed with the knack to evolve to the situation and dodge cognitive dissonance. Still, the private tuition industry will further widen the gap between the chosen haves and majority have-nots.

The college and university students are supposed to be mature enough to read and comprehend the content on their own. Instead of feeding them syllabus-based content online, they need discussions, consultations, clarifications and cognitive exercises. That can be offered both online and offline. Small group class-room interactions involving not more than 10-12 students at a time can bear out better results. Such class-room interaction opportunities can be provided to every student of higher education at least once a week. Researchers in the universities ought to be immediately given access to the labs and libraries without delay.

Since, the pandemic situation seems to be not improving any sooner; we need to fine blend the means and modes of education. It is evident from human history that we may tend to react abnormally for a while but evolve to conquer if the abnormal situation persists.

— The writer is Assistant Professor at Government College, Panchkula