The coronavirus pandemic had exacerbated the pre-existing educational inequalities in the country, which in turn reflected the grim socio-economic realities, said N. Ram, director, The Hindu Group of Publications.
He was speaking at Edusights 2020, an international colloquium organised by the Sacred Heart Institute of Management Studies in Tirupattur recently. The event focused on the disruptive challenges in higher education as the nation emerged from the virus crisis.
In the keynote address, Mr. Ram said the unprecedented disruption of the educational system,and the consequent loss of learning at all levels, was a matter of the gravest concern. India should learn from countries that had managed to work around COVID-19, he said.
He felt the regulation of higher education was over-centralised in the National Education Policy 2020. The University Grants Commission’s announcement to conduct final-year undergraduate and postgraduate examinations by September-end had distressed and made students and families anxious, Mr. Ram said. “This issue must be resolved quickly and decisively so that hundreds of thousands of students can finish their course and plan to go on to careers, whether they be jobs or higher studies,” he said.
Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Education University Vice-Chancellor N. Pachanatham said students needed skill-based education to prepare them for “the real world of planning, managing, delegating, and being proactive to solve problems”.
The lockdowns had kept the students and faculty away from the campus. The university had conducted over 800 webinars during this period, he said.
Clara D’Silva, president and founder, Korcomptenz Inc., said that by adopting technology a new world of opportunities had been created. People could use social media to stay connected with the world. The learning experience can be amplified by going beyond books and classrooms and “yet remain grounded in an understanding of our students as an active connected community, each with their unique ability and part of a larger eco-system with access to valuable resources”, she said.
The college’s rector and secretary John Alexander SDB said the power of human resilience during adversity and the ability to bounce back even from the worst tragedy should be taken advantage of.
Over 1400 faculty members and researchers from 11 countries participated in the colloquium, a release added.