Page 61 - EducationWorld June 2020

training of teachers and students for learning for students in skilling and damaging and discouraging for these
digital online classes. Within a week professional study programmes; institutions.
of the lockdown, all our campuses compliance with social distancing What are your Top 3 proposals for re-
had successfully implemented digital and safety guidelines of the Central forming school and higher education?
online classes for students by lever- government when campuses reopen,
aging new digital technologies with and meeting admission targets • Abolish multiple government
regulatory agencies by legislating a
close to 98 percent attendance. We because class XII examinations and
also stepped up to the challenge of results are inordinately delayed. unified agency instead
• Permit entrepreneurs and corpo-
conducting all examinations — mid- Several state governments have issued
term/end-term — online with over fees waiver/deferment circulars to pri- rates to promote for-profit education
institutions
98 percent attendance and declared vate schools. What’s your comment?
all results. • Enable private higher ed institu-
Most managements of private higher tions to collaborate with American
What are the major challenges confront- education institutions have complet- Ivy league universities to set up cam-
ing Indian higher education in the Covid ed their second semester by invest- puses in India and offer joint degree
era? ing substantial time and resources programmes.
Poor Internet connectivity and ac- during the Covid-19 crisis. With
cess to digital devices especially for admission for the new academic year Future plans...
Over the next five years, we plan to
students living in rural and remote uncertain, they haven’t received any
corners of the country, and for advance admission and other fees establish Unison Boys, an all-boys
residential school in Dehradun,
students in universities not equipped from students. Against this back-
to support online teaching; disap- drop, the fees waiver/deferment and the Unison Institute of Medical
Sciences and Research.
pearance of hands-on experiential ordered by government will be very
Shailesh Dalmia rural areas? These challenges have to be
addressed by the academic community
Honorary Secretary, N.L. Dalmia Educational through innovative solutions.
Society On state governments’ fees waiver/defer-
ment circulars to private school manage-
commerce and law graduate of ments. The Covid-19 pandemic has
Mumbai University, Shailesh disrupted entire industries and econo-
A Dalmia is honorary secretary of mies. Therefore, why target the edu-
the Mumbai-based Niranjanlal Dalmia cation system singularly? Education
Educational Society (estb.1982). The soci- institutions are obliged to pay teachers
ety manages three education institutions and staff salaries and continue to meet
in Thane, Mumbai, including the CISCE- overhead expenses and service loans
affiliated N.L. Dalmia High School; irrespective of the lockdown. The cost of
N.L. Dalmia College of Arts, Science & school operations has not decreased in
Commerce and the N.L. Dalmia Institute any way but will increase exponentially
of Management Studies & Research with a total of 4,500 to ensure complete compliance with government safety
students and 225 teachers. and hygiene norms once schools reopen. Government
N.L. Dalmia institutions’ response to the Covid-19 disrup- has to be fair to both service providers and consumers.
tion. We have responded effectively to the disruption, Top 3 proposals for reforming K-12 education in India.
transforming it into an opportunity to incorporate • Invest in digital infrastructure to enhance
blended learning in all our institutions although new teaching-learning. Equipping schools with digital
technologies are not novel for us. For the past few years, infrastructure and training teachers in digital skills and
our management institute has successfully integrated online pedagogies has become imperative in the post-
technology into teaching-learning with students famil- Covid world of education
iarised with latest software such as Tableau, SAS, SPSS, • Implement blended learning model. Blended
among others. Now all our institutions have switched learning which balances online and conventional teach-
to the online learning mode. Google Classroom is being ing is here to stay. Curriculums should be redesigned to
used extensively for teaching, creating assignments and enable and popularise blended learning
question banks. In short, our teachers and students have • Reform teacher training. The Covid-19 disrup-
quickly adapted to the online medium. tion has highlighted the urgency to focus on continuous
professional development. Teachers need to be equipped
Major challenges confronting Indian K-12 education in the
Covid era. The new reality of virtual learning has thrown with the skills to adapt to change and prepare learners
up several challenges. Can remote teaching assure stu- for the uncertain future.
dent engagement and learning outcomes? Can the entire Future plans… Tamaso ma jyotirgamay — ‘from dark-
curriculum be delivered effectively through remote ness, lead me to light’ — has been our guiding principle.
teaching? Are teachers sufficiently equipped to impart Our goal is to expand and provide learning opportunities
effective online learning? Is our nation’s infrastructure in K-12 and higher education with the long-term goal
ready for digital learning across all regions, including being to promote an N.L. Dalmia University.

JUNE 2020 EDUCATIONWORLD 61