The present situation of pandemic and its consequences require no more introduction. We at every level experiencing every day many new and different things from purchasing groceries online to work from home, and we managed to do these things very well to some extent thus we entered the New Normal world.
When it comes to the education system pandemic caused educational disruption worldwide. The education system revamped with a shift towards e-learning. If we look at the brighter side, it can be a great opportunity for schools, colleges, universities, and other educational institutes to scale their education model.
Recently India witnessed a surge in online education with a higher internet penetration rate from 4 percent in 2007 to 50 percent in 2020 (Source: Statista). The Indian government too appreciated the fact that online learning is the future of education and offer some initiatives for the same like strengthening online education infrastructure, fully online degrees, online exams, and ‘Bharat Padhe Online’ campaign, etc. The UGC has come up with different online education models and infrastructure to address the present educational needs. According to a UGC report, the number of online learning students increased six times between 2015 to 2018, which probably will grow exponentially over time.
Technology played a crucial role in every sector of the economy especially the education sector. The New Normal within the education system led to the rise of the EdTech industry that provides effective and efficient online solutions for learning, managing, and growing. Adoption of these online solutions in the education system can bring a positive outlook and growth. We have to admit the very fact that the benefits of online solutions are not only confined to educational institutes rather to all the related stakeholders like institutes, educators, students, and parents.
The hybrid model of education (integration of both offline and online learning) may be another alternative but online learning evolved in a way that becomes mainstream than just a temporary remedy.