S. Gowri, Vice-Chancellor, University of Madras
Many of the changes in the education sector, brought about by COVID-19 in 2020, are here to stay. With the possibility of regular classes resuming sometime in 2021, the year will see the education sector adapting to a blended approach, by combining online and regular classes.
Online classes can provide greater flexibility for students and teachers. As we move to this new realm, we need to focus on ensuring equal access to education for all. One of the problems I am seeing is the lack of interactiveness in the online mode of education. I hope 2021 will bring more technological interventions to address such problems effectively.
When I was Director of the Educational Multimedia Research Centre at Anna University, we produced hundreds of high-quality e-learning content on a variety of subjects. They were made freely available on the government’s Swayam portal. I have often felt disheartened about e-learning not taking off in a big way. But COVID-19 has forced the education sector to experience transformative changes in an accelerated manner.
Both teachers and students adapted to the online mode of education, fairly easily, despite the concerns expressed initially from various quarters. The online mode of examinations has become a reality now.
