Well this month had me participate in two Conferences as a panel speaker wherein the focus was on facing major challenges faced by the Education sector and transforming Education in the New Reality. As we reach the end of this rather eventful year, capturing some of my thoughts for your quick read:
We have had a tumultuous year as I mentioned in my earlier blog too and when we look back nine months have passed by with this disruption. With all the debate on offline or online, Higher Education Institutions have now decided to reopen campus as per the directives issued by the Government. A respite for us was that despite loss of revenue, Institutions have spent time refurbishing the infrastructure and also sprucing up the campus to receive the students. A lot of focus has gone into the realigning of the hostel needs to suit the new reality and keeping it ready for students.
During the pandemic and post the pandemic, primary focus of Higher Education will now be on upskilling teachers. There is a clear need for rigorous training amongst the staff to face the new challenges. What we have been harping on is the fact that our teachers have to be comfortable with using technology and change their teaching methodology. Also faculty and the learners need a lot of counselling. Teacher comfort and learner comfort becomes primary to us: teacher comfort in use of technology and learner comfort to balance the hybrid model. Higher Education Institutions have not given Technology infrastructure a lot of importance from the perspective of the need that has been generated as of now. Fortunately for us at REVA we had a five year Digital REVA plan of 2015 and by 2020 we were able to complete the entire digitization of the campus and this has helped us a lot during these times.
Assessments have been one of the biggest challenges. AI Proctored examinations were conducted by many institutions. What went unnoticed is the comfort of a gifted student and the comfort of the one who needs learner support and the average performer. Not all assessment can be based on sheer MCQs and OBE. The practical and hands on component needs to be assessed, jury based assessments have to well-planned and projects need thorough examination as well. While electronic portfolios is another pathway, certain skills, talents, creativity of a learner cannot be best presented or thoughtfully done unless there is interface. Documentation of work and building work ready skills also needs in person attention. Ensuring equity amongst the assessed students is going to be a major challenge. There are students who either do not have access to technology and internet or are not very successful in remote assessment, this is where the practical component of assessment suffers. Student responses and interactions at times are the best way to assess the learner.
While we are all convinced that we can find alternate options for all of this, exploring them and ensuring that they are implemented and put into practice will need some time. Changes to all assessment ratings, weightings, redesign of assessment and also working around practice-based assessments, programming and use of expensive software is going to take time as we need to create simulated environments for some of them. As of now priority is to ensure classes go on and assessments are done on time so that there is no cascading effect on placements or on continuity in learning or in progression to the higher rungs of education. This is living with the New Reality in Education!
Dr. P. Shyama Raju
Chancellor
