{"id":7564,"date":"2020-07-11T20:58:43","date_gmt":"2020-07-11T15:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wdfuniversity.org\/?p=7564"},"modified":"2025-11-22T11:07:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T05:37:06","slug":"covid-and-education-puzzle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wdfuniverse.org\/wordpress\/covid-and-education-puzzle\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID and Education puzzle"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nProf. Dr. Sir H. O. Srivastava, IBS, K. St. J
\nM.Sc. M.Phil, Ph. D. (Info Sys.), Ph. D. (Chemistry), D. Lit. (Management)<\/h5>\n

Prof. Dr. Sir H. O. Srivastava, former Addl. Director General & Head of AIR Resources of All India Radio and Doordarshan (Level of Addl. Secretary to the Govt. of India), is the Chancellor of WDF University. He worked for expansion of broadcast network in the country for past 50 years in various capacities. He established BECIL (Govt. company), AIR Resources, IT Division of AIR & DD, MR Cell, Gyanvani Education Chanel for IGNOU, India, Agriculture Chanel for Ministry of Agriculture, India, Agriculture Knowledge Dissemination System for BAU (Govt. of Bihar, india), Community Radio Stations for Govt. of Ethiopia and Govt of India and many more. He has received several National and International awards and has written six books and about 150 research papers in national and international journals. He worked as Commonwealth and ITU expert.<\/span><\/h4>\n

Date: July 11th, 2020: COVID and Education puzzle.<\/strong><\/h1>\n

COVID epidemic entered the globe with people totally unaware of its seriousness and longevity. During past 4 months, it has severely impacted the world economy and affected the life of people around globe. People have lost the jobs. As per a report by Oxfam,<\/a><\/span> “as many as 12,000 people could die per day by the end of the year as a result of hunger linked to COVID-19, potentially more than could die from the disease.” COVID has also severely impacted the education system. The schools and colleges have been closed. The students are being promoted to next grade without examination. On the other hand the institutions are keen to start for their survival. Although we are a couple of months into this pandemic, there is still so much unknown about the virus with the number of COVID cases rising everyday that parents and students are hesitant to believe that education on campus would be safe at least till next summer.<\/span> In India, 200,000 parents have petitioned the Government not to open the institutions till there is a single case of CORONA in the country. In institutions, there is no way to accommodate the students in the available spaces, maintaining the social distance. The situation is more complex because of great exodus and shift of population from urban to rural areas in places like India. Many students from India are postponing their program for enrollment in foreign Universities. The situation is for wait and watch.<\/p>\n

Distance learning programs<\/h2>\n

Are distance education program a solution? Not likely, as being thought by many institutions. Until the COVID-19 crisis, online learning comprised a relatively small share of education. Now the situation demands for all the institutions, including IVY League Universities and renowned learning centers, to setup infrastructure to improve student learning, engagement, and experience while operating remotely. Many faculties are using varied methods for imparting lessons such as sending scanned notes via email or WhatsApp or using Webinar or video conferencing. Many Countries & States are planning to start DTH channels for education. None of these meet the learner\u2019s requirements.<\/p>\n

Emerging technologies provide some tantalizing glimpses of framing methodologies for the remote education. Onus likes on Institutions and the Governments. Institutions have to cater to:
\n\u2022 Innovative Content and delivery methodology
\n\u2022 Infrastructure for creation of e-learning content
\n\u2022 Engaging technologies Virtual reality, AI, Robotics
\n\u2022 Sense of community
\n\u2022 Vibrancy typically found on campuses such as video options for counselling, online mindfulness classes
\nBig or small, public or private, colleges and universities are rich in human talent. To succeed in this brave new virtual world, the key is to empower and redeploy this talent to address the most pressing needs. One way to start is by identifying, activating and partnering tech-savvy organizations with expertise in digital technologies and practices to build the infrastructure quickly and train the faculty and students to use online tools.<\/p>\n