Digital Transformation: The Only Way Of Revival Post-Pandemic

February 19, 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic utterly transformed the education system around the world, resulting in an increasing digitalization. But the digital divide in India is enormous. As per a report , the lockdown has increased the drop-out rates among students in rural and semi-urban areas. Semi-urban and rural places, despite the increase in wireless users in recent years, are miles apart in their online presence (27 subscribers to 100 people in rural areas, according to the 75th National Sample Survey of India).

Some deep-rooted issues have also been highlighted by the pandemic, such as lack of exposure to necessary teaching tools, participation in learning strategies, and industry-relevant curriculum, as teachers struggle to broaden their pupils' learning horizons. It has also disrupted the interaction between teacher and learner by moving it from a classroom to a 13-inch screen. Such challenges can, however, be addressed, and digital platform players have a pivotal role to play in enabling transformation in four areas:

Building digital twins and using AI: The need for the hour is to create experiential learning platforms that increase learner interaction and resemble physical media. It will help create a familiar atmosphere for the learner and allow educators to preserve the decorum they need.

Aggregating the ecosystem of partners: Digital technologies should act as a platform of bringing together numerous educational stakeholders. For example, the availability of low-cost educational devices capable of operating in a network-less region could be one solution to the digital divide.

Enable leadership to transform educators: It is time for headteachers to take the lead, understand the nuances of online learning and move forward as digital leaders. The focus should be on teachers and instructors being able to re-skill and learn new digital skills through a comprehensive plan.

Therefore, digital transformation is indeed a necessary means of recovery and revival, should be started with immediately.

By Abhra Roy