What Would New Normal Look Like For Colleges Post COVID-19?

Siddharth Chaturvedi Mar 19, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the overall functioning of various sectors across the globe. One such sector which has undergone a drastic change is the education system. According to a report by UNESCO, more than 32 crore students in India are affected by COVID-19 due to the closure of schools and colleges. Hence, it is most likely that there will be a revampment in the traditional ways of education. In the post-Covid era colleges and universities will need to adapt to various advanced modes of learning to come to terms with the new normal. Colleges need to restructure their whole policy to survive in the current scenario. As social distancing and other COVID precautions are here to stay for a long time, colleges need to resort to a blended mode of learning where both offline and tech-mediated online classes can take place alternatively. Apart from that, colleges will be required to ensure that social distancing is maintained by everybody along with regular sanitization of buses and classrooms.

Moreover, in the post-COVID era higher education institutions need to cater to the demand of students and teachers on key issues such as access to laptops/computers, internet, electricity and smartphone. Even the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasises on a responsive curriculum which will lead to the development of readiness in times of uncertainty. According to NEP 2020, the students’ assessments would also change and focus more on understanding of concepts. As businesses tend to become more skill-oriented, this approach will help students master various skills and develop the students future careers by providing them with real-life knowledge and skills.

To make the blended approach of learning successful, the teachers need to be trained with digital skills. It is witnessed that due to technical vulnerabilities the teachers find it difficult to communicate with the students via e-learning platforms. With the help of the government and educational institutions the teachers can aid students with a better virtual learning environment. Other than that, the utilization of more digital resources in all the processes of the student value chain, apart from teaching learning such as admissions, examinations, assessments, internships and placements will be in high demand. There will be more opportunities for internships in the virtual domain breaking all geographical barriers for both the student interns and organizations.

In addition, Education 4.0 can help with the digital divide in the country by providing students with an advanced usage of e-labs, online learning and more. Constructive application of freely accessible digital resources such as Massive Open Online Course (MOOCs) and other online sources will be leveraged. Even The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and University Grants Commission (UGC) have launched several virtual platforms with e-books as well as e-learning materials such as Swayam, DIKSHA portal, e-PG Pathshala, Shodhganga, e-Yantra etc. Educational Institutions will prioritize strengthening their resources for superior virtual educational activities, which will include television, mobile phones and other web-based education. Colleges will assess students either through online mode, small projects or quizzes.

In the near future e-learning will be the most sought after educational platform even after the Covid-19 vaccination. Therefore, students will have the opportunity to select their own time frame to associate with the training platform. Colleges across the country need to adopt new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and other deep learning models to facilitate the new normal. Change is the only constant for everybody, similarly upgradation will become the only constant for colleges and universities in this new era of mankind.