While the pandemic accelerated the digitisation of education, it also disrupted physical learning for around 300 million children in India. According to a Pearson Global Learner’s Survey, 84% of Indians believe that online learning deepened inequality for students without adequate access to technology. Lack of robust digital infrastructure, low Internet connectivity, and limited access to digital devices led to many disadvantaged students dropping out of the system.
While there are several initiatives to bring them back into the mainstream, access to technology and devices is indispensable for this to materialise.
Overcoming the divide
The cause of concern is the inequality in the current Indian education system, which stems from the socio-economic divide. A stable basic income can be one substantial solution towards guaranteeing the Right to Education under Article 21A.
While modern education is expensive, the exponential growth of demand cannot be curtailed. This is a result of the rising consciousness of the need for education. One possible solution could be putting education at the helm of policy-making and involving India Inc. to support education for the underprivileged. Institutional endowments and contributions from the diaspora could also help.
Ed-tech companies have played a major role in transitioning to and delivering online learning by offering enhanced digital learning solutions. While blended, hybrid, synchronous, and asynchronous learning are witnessing greater push, equity in education can be achieved by making these tech-enabled solutions affordable for all.
Improving Internet connectivity across the country is imperative. Low-data consumption, offline learning solutions, community radio, and subsidised devices and data will help make digital learning feasible in remote regions. Efforts towards combining traditional learning systems with technology have already begun. Personalisation solutions based on an individual’s learning capabilities, flexible syllabus and timings, accessibility, interactivity, and innovative learning pedagogy, all enabled by tech, will enhance the quality of learning.
To make the blended ways of learning more accessible, there is a need for alliances between the government, education companies, and learning institutes. Learners’ interests are multidisciplinary and increasingly unconventional. Hence, using technology to offer diverse and relevant content through immersive experiences and experiential learning is necessary.
Including SEL
Incorporating Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) in the 21st-century curriculum is vital for a sensitised student community. E-learning holds the potential to disseminate this crucial knowledge. It can also aid in effective problem-solving, responsible decision-making, setting achievable goals, developing interpersonal skills, and creating meaningful relationships.
The future of the education sector is ‘phygital’ and involves many kinds of blended modes of learning. Institutions must be digital-ready in terms of course material, faculty upskilling and adoption of learning management systems. Pedagogy too, must evolve to include innovative, interactive and collaborative methods that integrate immersive technologies, psychometric assessments, and SEL. Greater synergy among all stakeholders will be pivotal to ensure equitable education for all.
The writer is Managing Director, India and Asia, Pearson.
