Page 33 - EducationWorld June 2020

Simultaneously, we had to rapidly find ways to care for Saurabh Modi
our out-of-state and international students who could
not find a safe passage home, or were unable to return Chairman, Neerja Modi School, Jaipur
to their own countries. commerce post-
grad of Sydenham
What are the major challenges confronting higher education A
in the new Covid-19 era? College, Mum-
Working from home, remote learning is set to become bai, Saurabh Modi is
the new normal, in stark contrast to the ways in which founder-chairman of the
universities in particular have traditionally functioned. Neerja Modi School (NMS,
In the case of a fully residential university such as JGU, estb.2001), which has five
the contrast is even starker. In many ways, the crisis campuses in Rajasthan
has provided university managements an opportu- (Jaipur, Jodhpur, Chit-
nity to test the resilience of technology solutions and torgarh and Udaipur) with
systems such as healthcare, public finance, transport, an aggregate enrolment of
supply chains and policing, among other issues. 7,000 students mentored
New ways of remote work and social interaction by 475 teachers. He is
have reinforced our existing institutional and academic also founder of Nischay,
focus — to cultivate young minds to acknowledge and a community service initiative which provides education
embrace the richness and complexity of new social, and vocational training to over 1,000 underprivileged girl
economic, political and technology paradigm shifts. In children.
JGU, we have consistently emphasised adaptive ori- NMS Covid-19 response. While people were still awaking to
entation in the organisational and academic spheres. the impact of this global pandemic, we made the strategic
This means that notions of uncertainty, complexity decision to transition to remote learning, well before the
and fragility are recognised as core concepts around national lockdown. Our student-teacher community coop-
which our pedagogical practices are built. Because the erated smoothly and rapidly established normalcy through
fluid and dynamic ways in which natural disasters, virtual learning. The processes of technological upgradation
man-made emergencies and other complex interactive and extensive teacher training were undertaken on a war
events occur in the world, higher education institutions footing. The rapidity of our transition to online learning is
have to ideate responses that are flexible, and embrace in sharp contrast with the general perception that change
the diversity of expectations in complex contexts. This occurs at glacial speed in academia.
is an opportunity for us to reinforce existing pedagogi-
cal practices and also draw lessons from this crisis. Major challenges confronting Indian K-12 education in the Covid
era. The biggest challenge ahead is reopening schools physi-
What are your Top 3 proposals for reviving and reforming cally, prior to development of a Coronavirus vaccine. The
higher education in India? social, emotional, and mental well-being of all stakeholders
As a result of this crisis, one of the most important and in K-12 education has been severely dented. Online learn-
critical changes as I see it, is to prepare our students to ing platforms have their limitations in building a sense of
cope with new living and work environments that are camaraderie, imperative for all schools. From a wider per-
likely to become normative. In many ways, this crisis spective, I firmly believe that one of the biggest challenges
exemplifies the type of challenges our students are in K-12 education in India is national reluctance to adopt a
likely to encounter in their careers. As future leaders, growth mindset.
our graduates will be expected to adapt imaginatively
and creatively to new and unexpected situations in Fees waiver/deferment circulars to private school managements.
environments defined by uncertainty, ambiguity and We are a democratic welfare state in which governments
complexity. Educators and higher education leaders are understandably tempted to take populist decisions. But
need to develop young minds to think innovatively, and I wish the government had taken into account the inter-
develop broader perspectives. At JGU, these are the ests of all stakeholders. Much like other economic entities,
basic foundations of our pedagogical practices. schools also need to strengthen and boost their resources
during times of crisis.
What are your future plans for JGU?
As we navigate the current Covid pandemic crisis, we Top 3 proposals for reforming K-12 education in India. First, we
are actively learning to strengthen areas where we had need to switch to curriculums that increase employability of
limited experience previously, especially digitisation students. This can be achieved by bridging the gaps between
and online education. We recently established a new school and higher education, and industry. Second, massive
Office of Digital Learning & Online Education at JGU emphasis on training teachers to deliver 21st century skills
and we are committed to strengthening this expertise to students. This will be a game-changer for K-12 education
as we move ahead and beyond this crisis. The ultimate in India. Third, schools need to switch to pedagogies that
objective is to support JGU’s outstanding faculty in the develop the multiple intelligences of students.
creation of high quality online study programmes in
collaboration with leading digital platforms, universi- Future plans. I plan to infuse greater diversity and vibrancy
into the student and teacher communities of NMS. This
ties and industry partners. We intend to undertake
several such initiatives as we move forward and recover requires disseminating the NMS vision of learning in India
and abroad via e-learning platforms.
from the Covid-19 pandemic.

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