Abstract
PurposeThis research study aimed to collect feedback from the learners on the usefulness and effectiveness of the online counselling sessions organised during COVID-19 lockdown through online platforms to provide academic support to the learners.Design/methodology/approachThe link of a questionnaire designed in a Google Form sent to IGNOU learners of the January 2020 session enrolled under the jurisdiction of IGNOU Regional Centre (RC) Chandigarh through email as well as SMSs. Total responses received were 487, out of which 445 responses were complete, roughly 8% of the total registered learners during the January 2020 session. The questionnaire contained questions on a cross-section of online counselling issues, besides questions on the learners' profile.FindingsMajority of the learners were satisfied with the input provided while organising online counselling sessions during COVID-19 lockdown in India. A significant proportion of learners (88%) used smartphones for attending counselling sessions. Facebook page of the RC rated as a relatively better option than other online platforms. However, more than 50% of learners faced Internet connection problems and found them a significant hurdle for smooth viewing of online counselling sessions. The proportion of learners who encountered difficulties in handling electronic devices was insignificant. The learner's feedback on many attributes such as usefulness and effectiveness of the online counselling sessions, interaction with the academic counsellors, e-content used in the counselling was significantly positive. A significant proportion of the learners have reported that face to face counselling could be replaced with online sessions in future, considering its flexibility in terms of place and schedule of learning and availability of recording of such sessions.Research limitations/implicationsThe research study was conducted under Chandigarh region of IGNOU which has a predominantly urban population. Thus the results of the study are limited to Chandigarh region and the region with similar socio-economic settings. This certainly limits the scope of the study.Practical implicationsThe study certainly provides valuable feedback to the ODL policymakers to consider replacing face-to-face counselling with an online mode in a phased manner. Online counselling options will be highly cost-effective, easily manageable, and provide flexibility for learners and resource persons, resulting in addressing learners' non-attendance related issues in the face-to-face counselling sessions.Social implicationsIn the analysis of our finding it is clearly stated that the Internet connectivity and availability of electronic devices is an important issue to provide online counselling support to socially and economically disadvantaged groups. Therefore, the research study also identifies such social issues as a major challenge for providing online counselling support to the learners.Originality/valueThis is an original empirical research study and data collected is used in the analysis for the first time. This analysis is based on the feedback gathered from the learners registered at IGNOU RC Chandigarh during the January 2020 session. The data and derived results not used in any other study.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted education systems globally, imposing formidable challenges to their smooth functioning, leading to a discontinuity in their operations
The academic activities in Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) for the January 2020 session were likely to commence through its Learner Support Centres (LSCs) which are the interface between the university and the learners
The planned meetings of the Regional Centre (RC) had to postponed in compliance with the series of guidelines issued by the Ministry of Education (MOE), Government of India (GOI), under the instructions given by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in conformity with the SOPs of World Health Organization (WHO) to deal with COVID-19 crisis
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted education systems globally, imposing formidable challenges to their smooth functioning, leading to a discontinuity in their operations. The pandemic’s unprecedented situation has compelled educational systems to respond with alternative mechanisms for providing teaching-learning support to the learners. The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), with its national and international presence, proactively transitioned to adopt a blended approach from the ODL mode to effectively combat the pandemic situation and maintain the educational pursuits of its learners. The academic activities in IGNOU for the January 2020 session were likely to commence through its Learner Support Centres (LSCs) which are the interface between the university and the learners. The academics at the Regional Centres (RCs) were planning and scheduling induction meetings for new entrants. IGNOU suspended all its activities, including f2f interaction with the learners, i.e. including induction meetings and theory and practical counselling, which are essential academic activities immediately after commencement of a session. Sources of information regarding e-counselling email SMS RC FB Page COVID-19
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