More than a year after the outbreak of the pandemic, nearly half of the students worldwide remain affected by intermittent school closures, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The pandemic has severely disrupted lives of university teachers and 38.5 million students enrolled in India’s higher education as well, forcing them to enter into an undefined period of online learning.
A large number of current and prospective international students have suddenly found themselves confined to their homes instead of experiencing the campus life of their dream university. At the same time, as Covid-19 rendered hundreds and thousands of people jobless, the appeal of online courses offered at platforms such as Coursera, FutureLearn and upGrad has substantially increased among those who wish to rebuild their career.
While research on the effects of online classes is still ongoing, the question that everyone has on mind now is this: what form will learning take when normalcy returns and schools and colleges everywhere reopen? The question is particularly pertinent at this juncture when ramping up of the vaccination drive has raised hope of in-person classes at schools, colleges and universities becoming the norm again in the near future.