Education and E-Learning During Covid Times

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PARLIAMENT LIBRARY AND REFERENCE, RESEARCH, DOCUMENTATION AND INFORMATION SERVICE (LARRDIS) RESEARCH AND INFORMATION DIVISION

REFERENCE DIVISION

REFERENCE NOTE No.20/ RN/Ref/June/2021 June 2021

EDUCATION AND E-LEARNING DURING COVID TIMES.

10 mins read

At a Glance  Need for E-learning and Digital Education in India o Statements of Hon. President and Hon.PM on Online Education  Position of Digital Infrastructure in India.  Government Policy and Initiatives for Online Education in India o PM e-Vidya  Progress of Online Education in India  Key Recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports  Lok Sabha Debates on Online Education  Budget Allocations for Online Education  Steps taken to Boost Online Education after Budget Session 2021.  Steps Taken by Parliament Library towards E-Learning  Challenges of Online Education

1. INTRODUCTION

In the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, social distancing has become a norm, regular offline education has been prudently discontinued and focus has been put on online and digital learning. India characterized by multifarious diversity and constraints in terms of availability of resources (ICT infrastructure, electricity, budget, skilled manpower), switching over to digital modes of education has its challenges.

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Prepared by HRD Desk, Reference Division; Officers associated with the preparation – Shri Sai Dinesh Shetty, Research Officer (7620647498) ; supervised by Shri Pradosh Panda, Director (23035632/23035391) and Smt. Kalpana Sharma, Additional Secretary (23034845).

The Reference Note is for personal use of the Members in the discharge of their Parliamentary duties, and is not for publication.

Hon`ble President`s Statement on Online Education During the ongoing pandemic, when online education was emphasized upon in the country, Hon`ble President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind on 5th September, 2020 said “the online education system has made it obligatory for the parents to join hands with the teachers and encourage children to evoke interest in new fields of learning. Pointing out at the digital divide, he also emphasized that steps should be taken so that children from tribal and far- flung areas are also benefitted.” https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/PR_NAT_2020.pdf

Hon`ble Prime Minister`s Statement on Online Education

In a meeting on the issues and reforms required in education sector on 01 May ,2020

Hon`ble PM Narendra Modi also put special emphasis on the use of technology in the education sector and enhancing learning and adapting by the use of technology such as on-

li ne classes, education portal and class-wise broadcast on dedicated education channels. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1620208#:~:text=Overall%2C%20the%20 emphasis%20was%20given,on%20early%20vocationalization%20of%20education.

2. DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE IN INDIA.

The platform for E-learning and Digital Education depends upon ICT Infrastructure, Internet connectivity, access to Electricity etc. There is an urban and rural divide with regard to Tele- density in our country. Overall in the country , with only a minor difference in urban tele- density, there has been an increase in the number of telephone and broadband subscribers over the years in both rural and urban areas. The Table 1 and Table 2 below give certain details as per availability in this regard.

INTERNET CONNECTIVITY Table 1 : Tele-Density in India from April 2019 to April 2021.

200 159.83 141.17 150 140.07 All India Tele-Density (percentage) 90.4 100 86.57 88.26 Urban Tele-Density 57.31 58.77 60.37 (percentage) 50 Rural Tele-Density (percentage) 0 Jan/19 Jan/20 Jan/21

Table 2 : Total Telephone and Broadband Subscribers in India from April 2019 to April 2021. 1400 1183.51 1177.97 1201.2 1200 1000 778.09 800 687.44 Total Telephone Subscribers 563.31 (in million) 600 Total Broadband Subscribers 400 (in million) 200 0 2019 March 2020 March 2021 March

3. GOVERNMENT POLICY AND INITIATIVES FOR ONLINE EDUCATION IN INDIA. The National Education Policy (NEP 2020) focuses on Digital Education in India. PM e-Vidya has also been initiated in this regard with details given in Box below. Some of salient aspects related to online education are1 :  An autonomous body called the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) is to be created to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration.  Appropriate integration of technology into all levels of education will be done to improve classroom processes, support teacher professional development, enhance educational access for disadvantaged groups and streamline educational planning, administration and management2.  As far as E-content is concerned, the NEP 2020 says that it will continue to be developed by all States in all regional languages, as well as by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), and other bodies/institutions, and will be uploaded onto the Digital Infrastructure for School Education (DIKSHA) platform.  Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET) will be strengthened to promote and expand ‘Digital Infrastructure Knowledge Sharing’ (DIKSHA) platform as well as other education technology initiatives.

1http://164.100.24.220/loksabhaquestions/annex/174/AU1269.pdf

2 https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1642049

PM eVidya

PM eVidya unifies all efforts related to digital/online, on-air education to enable multi-

mode access to education. This will benefit students in schools and higher educational institutions. This includes:  DIKSHA (one nation-one digital platform) which will now become the nation’s digital infrastructure for providing quality e-content in school education for all the states/UTs  DIKSHA the nation’s digital infrastructure for providing quality e-content for school education in states/UTs:  QR coded Energized Textbooks for all grades (one nation, one digital platform),  One earmarked TV channel in SWAYAM PRABHA per class from 1 to 12 (one class, one channel) SWAYAM Portal,  Community radio and CBSE Podcast- ShikshaVani Special e-content for visually and hearing impaired developed on Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY) and in sign language on NIOS website/ YouTube. This will benefit nearly 25 crore school going children across the country.

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1654059

http://164.100.24.220/loksabhaquestions/annex/174/AU228.pdf

4. PROGRESS OF ONLINE EDUCATION IN INDIA3.

 Ministry of Education through the MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) platform, 'Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds' (SWAYAM), offers online courses in all disciplines. Till date more than 2000 courses have been developed and more than 4200 online courses have been offered in the portal. About 1.8 crore students have enrolled in these courses.  ‘Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) : It aims to usher in digital literacy in rural India by covering 6 crore rural households (one person per household) in February 2017. Under the PMGDISHA Scheme, as on 12.03.2021, around 4.54 Crore candidates have been enrolled and around 3.69 Crore candidates have completed the training out of which more than 2.71 Crore candidates have been certified4.  As per the Union Budget 2021-2022 announcement, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 30 lakh elementary school teachers have been trained digitally.  NISHTHA -National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement has been launched to motivate and equip teachers to encourage and foster critical thinking in students, handle diverse situations and act as first level counsellors.. In 2021-22 , the initiative aims to enable training of 56 lakh school teachers5.  Besides these, online resources are being provided through National Digital Library

3http://164.100.24.220/loksabhaquestions/annex/174/AU228.pdf 4http://164.100.24.220/loksabhaquestions/annex/175/AU3586.pdf 5http://164.100.24.220/loksabhaquestions/annex/175/AU3586.pdf

(NDL),e-Pathshala, e-PG Pathshala, Virtual Labs, Free and Open Source Software (FOSSEE) etc.  Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE) in Lok Sabha Secretariat has selected some courses from ‘Coursera Portal’, which is a global portal for online education.Under this online courses from field of finance, financial services, team building, leadership, and Human resources can be beneficial for the use of Hon'ble Members of Parliament, Members of Legislative Assembly, Officials of Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha Secretariat and State Legislatures and officials of Ministry of External Affairs and their families6.

National Digital Education Architecture (NDEAR)7  The Union Budget 2021-22 has laid a major emphasis on strengthening country’s digital infrastructure for education by announcing setting up of a National Digital Educational Architecture (NDEAR) which is being envisioned to be a digital infrastructure for Education.

5. KEY RECOMMENDATION OF THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, WOMEN, CHILDREN, YOUTH AND SPORTS.

The Department Related Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports also deliberated on issues related to Online Education. The Committee presented its 323rd Report on Demand for Grants for 2021-22 of Department of School Education, Ministry of Education report to the Rajya Sabha on 9th March, 2021. In this report, the Committee also made observations and recommendation regarding Online Education and E-learning in the country, which are given below8:

The Committee notes that in the wake of the Covid pandemic there is an increased requirement of children through digital mode so that in the long run digital online education becomes an alternative way of learning. Accordingly, the Committee recommended that the Department of School Education should explore the possibility of allocating more funds for digital initiatives for addressing the requirements of e-learning.

6. LOK SABHA DEBATES ON ONLINE EDUCATION.9

During the Budget Session 2021, Members in Lok Sabha highlighted the challenges and problems in online education in the country. Some of the highlights are:

6http://164.100.47.193/intra-maintain/files/07062021_123232_1921681193.pdf 7https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1696880 8https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/Committee_site/Committee_File/ReportFile/16/144/323_2021_3_14.p df

9http://loksabhaph.nic.in/Debates/Result17.aspx?dbsl=5179

 The question of accessibility of online education among students remains unaddressed.  Many children from low-income households, from rural areas and urban slums do not have proper access to digital tools like computers and laptops.  Internet connectivity is also an important concern for the students, which needs to be

addressed.

7. BUDGET ALLOCATIONS FOR ONLINE EDUCATION.

The details of Budget Allocation/Expenditure to various schemes under the head ‘Digital India e-learning’10are given in the table below.

Digital India-e-learning Revised 2020-2021 (in crores) Budget 2021-2022 (in crores) Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total National Mission in 48.05 -- 48.05 150.00 -- 150.00 Education Through ICT Setting up of virtual 75.00 -- 75.00 200.00 -- 200.00 classrooms and massive openonline courses (MOOCs) e-shodh Sindhu 154.61 -- 154.61 154.61 -- 154.61 Higher Education 14.00 -- 14.00 20.00 -- 20.00 Statistics and Public Information System (HESPIS) National Digital Library 8.72 -- 8.72 20.00 -- 20.00 National Academic ------1.00 -- 1.00 Depository PM e-Vidya ------50.00 -- 50.00 Academic Bank of 5.00 -- 5.00 50.00 -- 50.00 Credits (ABC) Total-Digital India-e- 305.38 -- 305.38 645.61 -- 645.61 learning

10https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/eb/allsbe.pdf Page 88

8. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AFTER THE BUDGET SESSION OF 2021 HAS TAKEN FOLLOWING STEPS TO BOOST ONLINE EDUCATION:

1. Ministry of Education released the Guidelines for parent participation in home-based learning during school closure and beyond.These guidelines aim to provide information on the ‘why’, ‘what’, and ‘how-to’ of participation and engagement in supporting children during the school closure, irrespective of their literacy levels11.

The Details can be accessed from https://dsel.education.gov.in/sites/default/files/update/MoE_Home_Learning_Guideline s.pdf

2. Government releases guidelines for the development of e-Content for Children with Disabilities. These guidelines will initiate the creation of high quality content for digital education to Children with Special needs. These guidelines are dynamic by nature, to be improved based on experience and advent of better technology12.

The Details can be accessed from https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/CWSN_E- Content_guidelines.pdf

9. STEPS TAKEN BY PARLIAMENT LIBRARY TOWARDS E-LEARNING

Parliament of India has taken various initiatives towards digital and online access to various E- resources. Some of the important steps taken towards E-learning under the initiatives of Parliament Library are given below:

1. Parliament Digital Library. 2. Created Library Interface on Member’s Portal. 3. E-resources like newspapers, articles etc are available. 4. Membership of DELNET for the widening of resources of the Library.

10. CHALLENGES OF ONLINE EDUCATION. Online learning does not ensure equitable quality learning for all students due to various factors such as having differential access to technological devices, and lack of support for learning at homes in several cases.

11https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1728509 12https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1725279

As per NCERT Survey in 2020, the following factors create hindrance in Online learning13.

 Poor Internet/ Network Connectivity/Signal.  Sharing and use of contents for on-line classes was difficult through mobile phones.

 Lack of knowledge of using devices for effective educational purposes.  Teachers were not well-versed with On-line teaching methodologies.

About half of the students in the same survey stated that they did not have the school textbooks. Although the e-text books are available on NCERT website and DIKSHA, the probable reasons behind this feedback are:

 Students are used to studying from the hardcopy of the textbooks  Lack of awareness regarding the availability of the e-textbook.  Paucity of devices with students and teachers.  Lack of orientation of students and teachers in on-line mode of teaching/learning.  Intermittent/ lack of electricity was also one of the major concerns hindering

the teaching-learning as around 28% of the stakeholders mentioned it in the survey.  Approximately 27% of the students mentioned the non-availability of smartphones and laptops. The absence of enriched interaction between the teacher and the students was one of the reasons as identified by the stakeholders

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Sources used

For Table 1: https://dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/Network%20Status-%20%20April%202019.pdf https://dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/Monthly%20Telecom%20Scenario%20March%20%26%20April%202020.pdf https://dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/MTS%20April%2721.pdf

For Table 2: https://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/PR_No.40of2019.pdf https://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/PR_No.49of2020_0.pdf https://trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/PR_No.33of2021.pdf

13https://ncert.nic.in/pdf/announcement/Learning_%20Enhancement_Guidelines.pdf