Online Pedagogy: The Way Forward

Online learning is the future. While it has advantages such as accessibility, affordability and flexibility, difficulties in downloading, slow net speed and digital inaccessibility should be tackled first

- Devender Singh Aswal

THE Delhi government has announced that no students should be called to schools physically in the new academic session till further orders. But schools have been told to commence teaching and learning through the digital mode from April 1 for the academic session 2021-22.

Due to Covid-19, schools in Delhi closed in March last year ahead of the usual closing of the academic year. So was the case in the rest of the country. The pandemic continues unabated, forcing schools across the country to move to online pedagogy. When normal teaching will resume remains unpredictable in view of the new surge and the emergence of more infectious variants of Covid-19 worldwide.

Thanks to India’s prowess as a leader in IT, we have a huge and fast-expanding National Optical Fibre Network and other technological devices which allow students to continue to learn. It is the new normal.

It’s a trite but true observation that necessity is the mother of invention. The challenges posed by earthquakes, hurricanes and long spells of natural calamities have turned into opportunities for innovation. So also for education.