ONLINE CLASSES

 

Every year we used to see the students going to schools and colleges during the month of June. They all wear new uniforms with new back-packs filled with new textbooks and notebooks. At every house, moms will be busy preparing their children (bathing, dressing up, and feeding breakfast) for school. The students go to school or colleges either by the school or college buses, or privately run vans or auto rikshaws or parents drive them in their own vehicles like scooters or motorbikes or by four-wheelers. All these pleasant sights every morning in every town has become a dream since 2020 June. It’s all caused by the cruel coronavirus pandemic. No normal classes, no class-room teaching, no games in the play-ground, no mixing with old and new friends and above all no enjoyment in spending time in school or college campuses!

Educationists and Education Ministers, even the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers met many times to tackle the pandemic problem not affecting the academic year. They could successfully conduct the NEET examination at the all-India level. They introduced online teaching and the teachers were asked to conduct virtual classes every day so that students stay at home and learn their lessons without exposing to the coronavirus. Even examinations (tests) are conducted periodically on-line.

It’s a wonder for old age people like me to see such a change and the role played by laptops or smartphones. One of the major limitations is the availability of these devices to all the students who are economically weak. For the middle and upper-class people of the urban society, on-line classes work successfully. Many teachers and students felt this change as a burden and uncomfortable for them because they have to come out of their comfort zone.

There are advantages and disadvantages to online teaching. Some of the advantages are: there is no need for school or college uniforms; there is no need for traveling to school or colleges which are either located near or far away. 

The schools and colleges need not spend on maintaining the classrooms and huge buildings with hundreds of rooms. Some of the disadvantages felt by certain parents and the students are not being with friends for the whole day, eating and sharing lunch with close friends, spending time in the cafeteria, no school/college day functions and no sports meet for the annual days. Practical classes may not be possible to conduct on-line. Probably someone may come forward with a solution soon! Availability of uninterrupted internet facilities all over the country is another major limitation. There will be loss of jobs for many who worked in hostels and messes (cooks and mess boys)

How in future our students are going to cope up with all these restrictions. But still, the attempt to continue the academic year is taking place with an expectation that the pandemic will come to an end by 2021. So the on-line classes are being conducted by some schools and colleges. The web portals and mobile apps like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, Diksha, e-Patshala, and many others are used for online classes. In fact, the academic seminars and comprehensive examinations, and thesis viva-voce examinations are being conducted online by webinar. It is very simple to do without so many festival-like activities. Technology has given us the devices for everyone to participate and carry out all these academic activities cheaply sitting at their own place.

So I think if the on-line teaching is successful, liked by students and teachers it may continue and change the future of education. Such changes may totally modify the education system and students will be adapted to the change. When everything is going online, why not schools and colleges? -  NARA