Perception of dental students of Pakistan, India and Egypt towards Online Education during the Covid-19 Pandemic-A multi-regional study

Abstract

Introduction: Due to Covid-19 pandemic, dental institutes were forced to shut down and forced to immediately switch to online learning platforms. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the detriments of online education from the perspective of dental students in developing countries. Materials and Methods: An online survey was distributed among dental students of India, Pakistan and Egypt through social media platforms, which assessed the developing countries’ barriers to a seamless online learning experience. Results: Among 498 students, 30% did not have a stable internet connection to run online classes. More than half the population (51%, 257) lacked concentration during their online lectures. Most of the participants (71%, 358) expressed that their teachers required more training on how to deliver lectures adequately through online teaching platforms. All of these answers were statistically significant with a Chi-square test score of 0.001. Results: Students of clinical years further expressed that they lacked a proper understanding of their clinical subjects at 76% (379). Conclusions: There were numerous barriers faced by dental students in developing countries for an optimal learning experience, most prominent of which was poor communication between educators and students and a lack of a structured program for clinical sciences. Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, Dental