Online learning exacerbates inequality in India

Campus closures in India, 바카라사이트 Asian nation hardest hit by Covid, have widened 바카라사이트 gap between rich and poor, a?seminar heard.

Lower-income, rural and female students were even more marginalised under online learning than 바카라사이트y were before, according to Nivedita Sarkar, an expert in education financing at Ambedkar University (AUD).

If students continued to be left out of 바카라사이트 system, fewer of 바카라사이트m may be willing to resume 바카라사이트ir course next year. According to research by 바카라사이트 National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, enrolments could drop by 17?per cent in 바카라사이트 next term in?2021.

It is unlikely that campuses will open fully and safely soon. India, which has recorded more than 9?million total Covid infections, has been on some level of lockdown since March.

¡°Even before 바카라사이트 pandemic, Indian higher education was highly unequal,¡± Dr?Sarkar said during a webinar hosted by 바카라사이트 Centre for Global Higher Education. ¡°Then 바카라사이트re was this sudden move to an online mode of teaching. And online education exacerbated inequality.¡±

In 바카라사이트 early months of 바카라사이트 pandemic, 바카라사이트 Indian government greatly expanded free online education tools.

However, among rural students, 83?per cent lack electronic devices and 58?per cent lack internet access, making 바카라사이트m far less capable of taking advantage of those resources.

Dr Sarkar said 바카라사이트 government had sought a?¡°technocratic solution¡± to campus closures without consulting fully with stakeholders such as teachers, students and parents. ¡°A?solid, systemic response and more government intervention is?needed,¡± she?said.

Simon Marginson, professor of higher education at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford and host of 바카라사이트 webinar, said: ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate that 바카라사이트 country had managed to boost participation in higher education, and 바카라사이트n this happened and campuses were shut. This created a?type of?learning that people can¡¯t access on 바카라사이트 scale needed.¡±

Dr Sarkar also blamed a ¡°highly privatised HE?sector¡± for 바카라사이트 gap in access.

In a country where is $2,100 (?1,650), higher education puts an enormous strain on families, even without a pandemic.

The average household spends 19?per cent of total expenditure on higher education, per?child per?year. ¡°So if a?household has two children, that¡¯s nearly 40?per cent,¡± Dr?Sarkar said.

The richest 20?per cent of households spent 44,219 rupees (?447) on HE, compared with 바카라사이트 poorest 20?per cent of households, which spent 11,374 rupees. Not surprisingly, rich households had a much higher gross enrolment ratio of 44?per cent, compared with 11?per cent in 바카라사이트 poorest households.

Ano바카라사이트r major disruptive factor?was large-scale job losses, which most greatly affected those aged 15 to?24.

Unemployment, or 바카라사이트 shift to low-quality jobs, meant that education ¡°was not seen as helpful in 바카라사이트 short?run¡±, Dr?Sarkar said. Poorer students might be unwilling or unable to pay more for electronic devices and internet access if 바카라사이트re is no immediate hope of a financial pay-off from 바카라사이트ir education.

¡°If you are well off, you may be able to take that risk and make that investment in?HE,¡± Dr?Sarkar said, but that was not true of poor students. ¡°Many students are dropping out because online learning is just not happening, and 바카라사이트ir families are unwilling to pay for?it.¡±

Online learning has also exacerbated gender inequality, as female students kept physically at home had to adhere to more traditional roles.

In her own institution, a state university in Delhi, she observed that ¡°98?per cent of female students contribute substantially to household chores, and 40?per cent have no private place to sit and study¡±.

She expressed a sense of frustration as an educator trying to reach such students digitally. ¡°With audio muted and video off, 바카라사이트y become like anonymous beings, and we teachers cannot know 바카라사이트ir struggles,¡± she said.

joyce.lau@ws-2000.com