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Special Essay

Online teaching-learning

blindspots

RAHUL SINGH

DUCATIONWORLD WILL DOUBTLESS BE cover- Authorities at the Centre and in the
ing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in all
its facets. This column, however, is about one aspect states have paid minimal attention and
Eof education, which has come to the fore recently provided little guidance to 240 million
with the physical closure of all schools: online classes and
online teaching. Understandably, NEP 2020 drafts, four students and over 9 million teachers
years in formulation, could not have anticipated that the who have been seriously impacted by
coronavirus would totally transform the education scene. the Covid-19 pandemic
UNESCO has estimated that over 1.3 billion children — a
cohort equivalent to the entire population of India — in 186
countries have not attended school since early March when ings to buy an old satellite dish, and a second-hand televi-
the pandemic struck. That’s why the concept of online study sion, just so that his daughter could continue her education
and teaching acquired a life of its own and became a fact during the national lockdown. A survey by the Maharashtra
of life for children and teachers. Four years ago, the size of State Council of Educational Research and Training and
the Indian online education market was a mere 1.6 million Unicef indicates that two-thirds of households in the state
users. Next year, the number of online learners is expected don’t have access to smart phones, and less than 1 percent
to sky-rocket to 10 million. Innovative companies like Byjus have desktop computers or laptops.
and Edutech are cashing in. The situation in other states isn’t any better. In May,
A huge and unprecedented adjustment is needed. Teach- the prime minister announced a Rs.20 lakh crore economy
ers have to be retrained to engage the attention of their ‘stimulus package’ after the outbreak of the coronavirus
students as they did in bricks-n-mortar classrooms. There pandemic. Why couldn’t some provision been made in the
are other challenges. Eye contact between teacher and stu- package to buy smart phones and tablets for children and
dent is of utmost importance. In a physical classroom of youth who need them to study online? The fact that no such
30-40 students, this isn’t difficult for a good teacher who provision was made highlights the low importance govern-
commands the respect of her students. But teaching 30-40 ment accords to education.
children online is an altogether different story. Students fol- n sum, only a small percentage of our population has
lowing lessons on their smart phones or computers cannot Ithe basic infrastructure required for online learning. Al-
possibly get the same type of attention from the teacher. though the middle class and wealthy households have bet-
Therefore, teachers need to develop a different set of class- ter connectivity, education authorities at the Centre and in
room management skills. the states have paid minimal attention and provided little
However, before we get to that, we need to urgently do guidance to 240 million students and over 9 million teach-
something to improve India’s Internet infrastructure which ers who have been seriously impacted by the pandemic and
is critically important for effective online teaching-learn- closure of all schools for five months. And there’s no indi-
ing. First, reliable broadband connectivity, which means cation yet when they will reopen, even to a limited extent.
uninterrupted electricity supply, must become normative. However, reopen they must. There is really no viable
Second, a digital device on which students can follow their substitute for physical classrooms and schools, and in-
online teachers, must be made available. These devices are frastructure such as playgrounds, swimming pools, labo-
one of three: a smart phone, tablet, or computer. Without ratories, up-to-date computers, libraries, and cultural
at least one of them, online teaching-learning is impossible. curriculums that good schools provide. Access to co-cur-
Most Indian households, especially those of the poor, have ricular and extra-curricular education is vital for well-
an ordinary television set which can access cable TV chan- rounded education. The conventional school has other
nels, and a simple, cheap cell phone (but not a smart one, non-scholastic benefits as well, which can’t be provided
which is more expensive). by digital classrooms. Communication with one’s peers
Here are some statistics to highlight India’s poor digital
connectivity infrastructure. The country has an estimated in school and interaction with students of different castes
and communities. In India, in particular, with so many
450 million Internet users, the second highest in the world divisive forces, and narrow-minded politicians always
after China. Nevertheless, one-third of the population cre- ready to exploit caste and communal prejudices for their
ates a big imbalance. Forty percent of Internet users live in own purposes, we need students, dedicated to removing
cities and towns, with 15 percent in rural areas. As many differences and promoting a secular, progressive society
as 55,000 villages have no mobile network coverage. With emerging from our schools.
schools closed, none of the children in these villages are get-
ting any education. One national newspaper narrated the (Rahul Singh, a former editor of Reader’s Digest, is a member of the Delhi
tragic story of a poor Gujarati farmer who spent all his sav- Public Schools Society)

34 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2020