In just in a matter of few months, the face of education in India has changed. With the Coronavirus spreading across the globe, countries have been taking numerous swift actions to lessen the development of a full-blown pandemic. According to a report, the OECD estimated that over 421 million children are affected due to school closures announced or implemented in 39 countries.

The decision of launching PM eVidya' programme by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Government is a stepping stone towards revolutionising the education sector, which was reeling under the adverse effect of the massive lockdown to cease the spread of the deadly virus. The programme aims to provide a multi-mode access to digital education so that 100 Indian universities can start online courses immediately. Digital education has emerged as a clear winner during this pandemic around the world. The PM eVidya programme is also encouraging for students, who were quite perturbed about their future thinking whether regular classes will take place this year or not.

Here are the trends that could be at the forefront of future transformations:

Change in education could lead greatest innovations: We have lamented numerous times about the slow-pace change in the education process be it outdated classrooms, lecture-based approaches to teaching. However, with COVID-19, the whole world has adapted to the innovative solutions in a relatively short period of time.

For example: In one Nigerian school, standard asynchronous online learning tools (reading material via Google Classroom), were augmented with synchronous face-to-face video instruction, to help preempt school closures. Students in Hong Kong started to learning at home via interactive apps.

The 4G and 5G technology in countries like China, the US, Japan and India, have promoted the initiative of learning anywhere, anytime of digital education in a range of formats. Traditional in-person classroom learning will be complemented with new learning modalities — from live broadcasts to educational influencers to virtual reality experiences.

The digital divide has expanded: Most schools in affected areas have come up with digital teaching to continue the education process. But, it has been seen that the quality of learning is dependent upon the quality and access of the digital platforms. After all, only around 60 per cent of the globe's population is online. Many students are relying on lessons and assignments sent via WhatsApp or email. The situation is not the same in less-affluent societies. When classes transition online, these children lose out because of the cost of digital devices and data plans. Unless access costs decrease and quality of access increase in all countries, the gap in education quality, and thus socioeconomic equality will be further exacerbated.

Time to build resilience: The wide spread of COVID-19 has at least taught us how to become resilient during this pandemic time. We have to be quick in adjusting  with various threats right from pandemic disease to extremist violence to climate insecurity, and even, yes, rapid technological change. The most important skills, which are needed based on the informed decision making, creative problem solving, and perhaps above all, adaptability.

To ensure those skills remain a priority for all students, resilience must be built into our educational systems as well.

Public-private educational partnerships have come for the rescue: The moment the lockdown was announced, we have seen many collaborations taking place, with diverse stakeholders — Governments, publishers, education professionals, technology providers, and telecom network operators. They all are coming together to promote how to utilise digital platforms. This initiative has been a saving grace for many emerging countries, where education has predominantly been provided by the Government.

The writer is Dr Narendra Shyamsukha, Founder-chairman, ICA Edu Skills