The Covid 19 crisis has severely affected the education sector in the state. The schools and colleges have now resorted to the online mode of education which has many challenges to be tackled. The teachers and students being physically aloof need to cater to the sessions at their own private space. When insidea class, a teacher couldinfluence and inspire the students to comprehend the subject better but through the online mode teachers have limited capacity to judge the understanding of the students. A draft policy of higher education council in Kerala recommended forming training programs to tackle challenges from online classes. The government is thinking of initiating special projects to develop online tools and maintain them. Constant teacher’s training program will be undertaken in the better use of online medium and training will be given to students as well.
The availability of internet at remote areas and its speed and bandwidth will also play a crucial role in the quality delivery of education through the online mode. Still there are several areas in Kerala with remote access that do not have rapid internet facility. The students residing in those places will be at stake to utilize online facility to the best of their capability. Interestingly India is at once the second-largest Internet- connected market and also the most untapped market with over 900 million yet to have access to the internet. Even if internet facility is made accessible, the issue of attainment of personalized devices like smartphones, laptops or tablets would call for the requirement of huge funds to purchase them. TheKerala government is also ensuring that the lessons at government schools are taught through television. Lessons are delivered through Victers channel, the complete educational channel of the state which telecast programs of educational value and general awareness. But students who have economically meeker background would suffer due to the unavailability of television at home. Quite shockingly there were some suicides and suicidal attempts by students whose meagre backgrounds dejected them with the unavailability of a television to resume their studies.
The covid 19 crisis has paved a way for the proliferation of different strains of online sessions and a series of webinars to train the teachers and students. The academic community is buzzing with activity in its new work from home status. The rapid advancements in Information and Communications technology is evident in every domain today, and its expertise can be adapted into the field of education keeping it intact without faltering in this bizarre circumstance. The challenges in the field of online education if better addressed can be lessened by appropriate coachingbeing provided to the teachers. The recording and online presentation of subjects displaya teacher’s demeanor and competency, but preparation and training would enrich their efficiency and improve their likability among students. Schools in Kerala are at the helm of providing quality online education especially government schools which are now experimenting with sophisticated technology like augmented reality
