Relevance of open and distance learning

Educational disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the closure of educational institutions brought about a remarkable change in the pedagogy and approach of education,
Relevance of open and distance learning
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Dr Debahari Talukdar

(Director, Gauhati University Centre for Distance and Online Education)

Educational disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the closure of educational institutions brought about a remarkable change in the pedagogy and approach of education, particularly in the developing countries. With the educational institutions closed, the demand for digital learning solutions surged all over the world. Together with the sudden spurt in digital education, the Open and Distance Learning (ODL) programme also gained momentum during and post-pandemic period. Other reasons for the transition towards ODL and online education are the geographical constraints, limited financial resources and insufficient suitable educational institutions within reach. Besides these, the flexibility and accessibility offered by ODL and online modes provide more opportunities for learners to overcome the constraints.

Over the last few decades, Open and Distance Learning (ODL) and Online Education programmes in India have played a significant role in making higher education accessible to millions of students since the first Open University was set up in India under the initiative of a state government. It’s a fact that many of these students belong to poor economic backgrounds and are socially disadvantaged. Through the multimodal technology-supported education, the ODL institutions have successfully changed the image of ODL, which has now become a credible alternative to conventional higher education.

The ODL mode of education garnered widespread acceptance and saw a dynamic shift after the University Grants Commission (UGC) rolled out the 2017 ODL regulations.As far as the credibility and the public perception of ODL programmes are concerned, the 2017 UGC Regulation played a very crucial role.As per the Report of the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE-2018-19), distance education enrolment constitutes 10.62 per cent of the total enrolment in higher education, out of which 44.12 per cent are female students and 55.88 per cent are male students. The report also reveals that 59.04 per cent of the students, which is more than half of the total population of distance education, come from six states only. These states are Delhi with 16.2 per percent; Maharashtra 16.1 per percent; Tamil Nadu 10.2 per cent; Kerala 6.2 per cent; Uttar Pradesh 5.2 per cent; and West Bengal 5.1 per cent. The percentage of programmewise break-up of ODL students are 28.8 percent for Postgraduate Programmes, 77.8 percent for Under graduate Programmes, 2.9 percent  for PG Diploma Programmes, 3.7 percent for Diploma Programmes, and 1.23 percent Certificate level Programmes. The estimate of UGC, 2019, in its report stated that a network of 118 Higher Educational Institutions (HEI), which includes 18 Open Universities and the others being the Central, State, Private, and Deemed Universities, have fulfilled the demand of higher education of more than 40 lakhs through UGC-recognised ODL and online programmes.

The National Education Policy, 2020 (NEP, 2020) has also clearly stated that “Entry into quality higher education can open a vast array of possibilities that can lift both individuals as well as communities out of the cycles of disadvantages. For this reason, making quality higher education opportunities available to all individuals must be among the highest priorities.” The NEP, 2020, targets a Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of 50% in higher education by 2035. China, which is almost the same size as the current population of India, has a much larger Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of 51.6%. To materialise the visions of NEP 2020, ensuring equitable access to quality education, with a special emphasis on SEDGs, together with the target of GER in higher education, ODL and online education will definitely play an instrumental role.

In a fast-changing world, maintaining an ODL system relevant to the new situation and the responsibility of playing a greater role, it will be inevitable that the ODL system must transform its approach from programme-centric to learner-centric together through technology intervention. The HEIs must adopt certain strategies and change their approach in dealing with the ODL learners in multiple ways. The first of such strategies may be thinking beyond conventional Learner Support Centre activity to ICT-based student support. This may be a shift from face-to-face counselling to audio-visual counselling. Through such an approach of TV/radio-based web counselling, the live lectures of the faculty of HEIs will be transmitted through TV channels and radio channels, which could be made live-streamed through Facebook, YouTube, etc. Use of educational TV channels, i.e., Gyan Darshan, and FM radio channels can be used as web-based counselling. As a Media Electronic Counselling SWAYAMPRABHA Channels of MHRD can be used by learners of ODL mode. To counter the limitations of infrastructure in the conventional LSCs, the digital or smart classrooms with broadband connectivity, smart TVs, digital boards, and satellite dishes may be helpful in increasing the learner base of the ODL mode institutions.

Another important step to be taken by HEIs in the ODL system is to deploy a robust online admission system with its own cloud server support capable of managing the load of the admission system and admission-related information and generating digital student identity cards along with all services at the doorstep.

Limited access to the learning resources and shrinking budgetary provisions are two main reasons for the detachment of ODL learners from the libraries. With the progressive integration of technology, learning resources are now available through digital libraries in the form of text, e-books, online journals, etc., which can be housed at the ODL institutions themselves, and remote access can be given to all the LSCs.

Learners should be encouraged and motivated to opt for digital SLMs, and accordingly, self-learning materials are to be remodelled from printed form to digital form. The Open Universities and the Dual Mode Universities shall have to make the SLMs available in all the desired formats, i.e., desktop, mobile, etc. This initiative would result in less reliance on printed materials, thereby reducing the amount of paper used and thus contributing towards environmental protection. It is worth mentioning here that a lakh of students of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) have preferred the digital mode of self-learning materials.

Increasing efficiency and transparency in the examination process is another area of concern in the ODL system of education. To facilitate a learner-friendly examination registration process for the learners, all the HEIs should deploy a dedicated online examination registration with an electronic payment gateway system. Further, the HEIs need to seriously think about adopting the monitoring system through the proctored examination and online marking of answer scripts in line with the evaluation methodology practised in the SWAYAM/NPTEL courses for online examination.

To maintain the relevance, the limitations in the access to professional and practical/hands-on training in the present ODL environment must be opened with such programmes that involve practical sessions and mandatory physical presence.MHRD, in collaboration with IITs, IIIT Hyderabad, NIT Karnataka and many other organizations have developed virtual labs under the ODL framework which will enhance access to quality education in professional and lab-based programmes.

It is worth mentioning here that the employers too, be it in the industry, the educational institutions, or government and semi-governmental organizations, all are recognising the increasing relevance and impact of the ODL system for recruiting people with relevant skills. In an age characterised by the convergence of AI and ICT technologies, the ODL and online programmes are likely to revolutionise and redefine the future of education. A sincere effort towards providing technology-enabled learning environments will transform the ODL environment to a learner-centric approach and preserve the relevance of distance learning forever.

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