Education During Covid- 19 Pandemic and the Compounding Challenges in India

Abstract

The human history has witnessed most destructive pandemics cyclically. Outburst of plague, waves of tuberculosis, HIV, flue Pandemic, cholera, black death, and now the most recent Covid-19 pandemic began from Wuhan, China in December, 2019 had all brought massive destructions. The traces of their massive annihilating impact on all sectors of life are clearly visible but the tragic impact of Covid- 19 on higher education in India is deep rooted and demands further probe. Hence it is obligatory to understand the problems in education in India in the last three years to formulate a future policy to control the damage on priority basis. This paper construes the magnitude of the global issue of higher education with special reference to India during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has enormously affected higher education systems in India and we were forced to convert syllabus into an online format which in itself was an inherent challenge. The present study deliberates the execution of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Indian higher education situation and examines the challenges experienced by both students and teachers during this period to explain their readiness for online education. To understand this issue with greater depth and understanding this research study employs qualitative method and analyses research papers, books, newspaper reports and reports of various agencies.