Education in the Times of Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic affected many industries across the world with the education sector being no exception. The journey for the education sector and the transition in the times of the ongoing global pandemic has not been a smooth one. Our conventional systems of knowledge and action both underwent a major digital revolution because of the pandemic. It has been fraught with endless conflicts and multiple challenges that the educational institutions, educators and the students together were called on to ÿght. From the delays in admissions to handling the uncertainty connected with the future of higher education, both the students and the teachers have spent countless restless hours desperately searching for updates on the same. The academic calendar was thrown off course. The question of adapting to never before seen challenges loomed large. However, once faced with the challenge of technological advancement, the schools, colleges and Universities were quick in recognizing the need for establishing a diverse academic ethos with technology being the driving force. There were initial apprehensions and hesitation with online learning as most people worried about the authenticity and credibility of academic material and online platforms. Concerns arose about the suitability of the medium for various age groups and the social, physiological, and psychological threats that sitting isolated for long hours in front of a screen posed. Moreover, it was difficult to select the most suitable one according to one’s own needs among a plethora of available choices. Even though the progress was slow, it acquired a steady pace. Technology rose to the fore offering us with never before imagined solutions as teaching and learning literally broke the bounds of the classrooms and entered our mobile devices.