By Dr Tareq Rasheed, International Consultant and Trainer
COVID-19 set all organisations under a big challenge; how could processes and work proceed with the lockdown that was announced in March 2020? Schools, universities and academic institutions were directly impacted by the lockdowns.
Students and youth represent, in most countries, the majority of the population. So, the sustainability of education posed a challenge for the ministries of education and decision makers in academic institutions.
A digital transformation
To ensure the continuity of education in schools and universities, the decision was taken to transfer education online. In a world of digital transformation, many strategies, tools and techniques were adopted to ensure achieving strategic goals during this crisis.
Advantages of online education
There are several advantages that proved to support the effectiveness of this strategy in education. The main benefits are:
1. Continuity of Education: Without online solutions, for many, it was impossible to continue the education process during the lockdown, where face-to-face education was impossible
2. Health Protection: During the COVID-19 lockdown, there were many who were infected by the virus incurring a lot of health problems – many people lost their lives in this pandemic. Therefore, online education was a means of containing the spread of the virus
3. Time Investment: Online education saved time on transportation to and from schools, which, on average, takes one hour for most students
4. Safety: Due to lockdowns, streets were empty and thus health, safety and environment standards were brought to new levels with fewer accidents
5. Family Relations and Communication: Family relations, connections and communication were enhanced during the lockdown. This allowed for more time spent with parents and care givers, and to engage with the educational process with their children and teens
6. Recorded Lessons: Since all classes and lectures were recorded and available, any student that did not understand the lecture initially could get back to the recording
However, there are challenges to online education which include:
Lack of Engagement: The main advantage of face-to-face education is the full engagement of teachers and students, as well as students’ interaction together
Lack of Online Curricula: In several countries, ministries of education do not have support for an online curriculum covering all topics and all educational stages. This impacted the educational process negatively
Lack of Internet: In some poor countries, there is either a lack of effective internet connectivity, or it may be expensive for ministries of education to go with the alternative of online education
No Internet Infrastructure: In some poor countries, there is no internet infrastructure and thus a large number of students did not have the opportunity to learn during the crisis
Unequipped Teachers in Handling Online Solutions: Some teachers did not have efficient training to use online solutions effectively. This introduced a challenge to teachers, affecting the trust between teachers and students for having incompetent teachers where, in fact, they were just poorly trained.
Difficulty in Measuring the Educational Output: The most challenging outcome was for teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching process and to assess student knowledge and skills in the subjects that were taught. In some countries, the real output of education was very weak especially in lower classes. In the latter situation, there are several difficulties related to student engagement and the ability to supervise them
Absence of Being Online: The most important question was how to ensure that students were attending classes, especially as some did not open their cameras or microphones? So, apparently, students were online as their names appeared on the screens, but were they really present?
Cheating: As educational experts working with several organisations and ministries, we noticed a lot of cheating by students; the most terrible of which was when some mothers were helping their children to answer questions!!
Due to the challenges faced, ministries of education are invited to discuss the lessons learnt from COVID-19, and how to modify our online solutions for better effectiveness.
In a world of rapid digital transformation, all educational sectors and organisations should be able to effectively support solutions that maintain the educational output at the highest standards possible.
Some support the two-pronged solution known as blended-Learning by combining both solutions: face-to-face and online education, depending on the situation.
You can contact Dr Tareq Rasheed at
[email protected]
