Page 85 - EW May 2020 for Flipbuilder

Teacher-2-Teacher

Internet service

Achilles heel

ASHWIN FERNANDES

NDIA’S EDUCATION SYSTEM AND HIGHER EDUCA-
TION institutions in particular, have suffered a severe 3 2 . 0 9 4 6 . 5 1 4 7 . 4 7 S i g n a l i s s u e s
setback because of the national lockdown declared from 5 6 . 6 3
IMarch 25 following the outbreak of the novel Coronavi- 1 1 . 4 7 Problems
rus aka Covid-19 pandemic. With prospects of a reversion 3 . 1 9 9 . 2 3 P o w e r s u p p l y plaguing
to the status quo ante uncertain in the near future, univer- 5 3 . 4 2 5 3 . 4 9 4 3 . 3 students
sities and higher education institutions worldwide are tak- 4 0 . 1 8 P o o r c o n n e c t i v i t y
ing recourse to online learning in a big way. The crisis has 3.02 C a b l e c u t s
t
precipitated a paradigm shift in consumer behaviour from e m d n i l e t o p e r n i t y ifi l e g
o a b b o t s t e t i v c n o
face-to-face to online education. However as universities, H d a M o H I n e n n D
r o
o o N
faculty and students switch to online learning en masse, B C
one needs to pose the question whether India’s Internet
infrastructure is ready for this paradigm shift. Among respondents who experienced inadequate ac-
In April 2020, QS IGAUGE — the India subsidiary of cess to the Internet and used no particular provider, 53.49
the London-based Quacquarelli Symonds (publisher of the percent reported poor connectivity, and 46.51 percent ex-
globally-respected annual QS World University Rankings perienced signal (data access) issues. Among wi-fi dongle
league tables) conducted a nationwide survey to assess con- users, 43.30 percent complained of poor connectivity, 9.23
sumer satisfaction with existing Internet service providers. percent reported power cuts and 47.47 percent signal is-
A total of 7,594 students across the country responded sues. This data clearly indicates that the majority of Internet
to the online survey questionnaire — 62.16 percent male, users experience poor audio connectivity and/or signal is-
37.82 percent female and 0.02 percent transgender. The sues for data access.
respondents were heterogeneous in terms of their age group
with 74.33 percent in the 18-22 age group, 18.32 percent
aged 22-27 years, 4.91 percent 16-18 and 2.43 percent aged
above 27. Moreover, 81.03 percent of the respondents were 5 9 . 6 1 6 0 . 6 9
undergraduates and 18.36 percent postgraduates. 5 7 . 4 3 5 6 . 6 4 4 9 . 0 1 S i g n a l i s s u e s
The QS IGAUGE F urther A cademic Interest R ep ort
(F A IR ) 2 0 2 0 reveals the extent to which India is ready in
terms of infrastructure to meaningfully scale online learn- 5 0 . 9 9
ing. The FAIR study indicates that to use the Internet at 4 0 . 3 9 4 2 . 5 7 4 3 . 3 6 P o o r c o n n e c t i v i t y
home, 72.60 percent of respondents used a mobile hotspot 3 9 . 3 1
(i.e, connecting a wi-fi enabled electronic device to the l
phone’s Internet), 15.87 percent used home broadband (a i o J i r t e A e n f o a L N S a e I d
high-speed communications system that links computers to d o V B
the Internet using a cable, DSL or satellite modem hooked Internet service provider deficiencies
up to an Internet service provider), 9.68 percent used a wi-fi
dongle (a pocket-size device that connects to smart phones, The overall conclusion of the FAIR survey is that Inter-
tablets or laptops and allows access to the Internet) and 1.85 net service providers do not have the technology to ensure
percent had poor or nil Internet connectivity. Notably, 22 smooth delivery of online education on scale. Moreover,
percent of respondents used multiple connectivity devices. neither government nor private service providers have suc-
Of the 7,594 respondents, 38.12 percent used the Jio ceeded in overcoming the technical challenges of providing
platform, 28.25 percent Airtel, 14.82 percent Vodafone, adequate power supply and ensuring good quality audio con-
10.59 percent BSNL, 3.24 percent ACT, 3.16 percent Idea, nectivity or data access. Although, following the outbreak of
1.29 percent Hathway, 0.53 percent BBNL with 4.64 per- the Covid-19 pandemic there has been a massive shift from
cent connected through other service providers. traditional face-to-face to online education, because of poor
The final segment of the FAIR survey focuses on con- infrastructure, a shift to total reliance on online platforms
nectivity quality. The responses reveal that among home for the delivery of education seems a distant dream.
broadband users 3.02 percent suffered cable cuts, 53.42 Nevertheless, there’s no denying that education systems
percent reported poor connectivity, 11.47 percent power worldwide are switching to online teaching-learning in a big
supply problems and 32.09 percent reported prolonged way. Therefore, it is imperative for Internet service provid-
buffering for data access. Among mobile hotspot users, ers and telecom companies to improve the quality of their
40.18 reported poor audio connectivity, 3.19 percent power services.
supply problems and 56.63 percent reported delayed access (Dr. Ashwin Fernandes is CEO of QS IGAUGE and has been with the
to data. QS Group since 2012)

MAY 2020 EDUCATIONWORLD 85