STUDENTS PERCEPTION AND PREFERENCE TOWARDS ONLINE CLASSES IN INDIA DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Educational institutes across the world have closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic jeopardizing the academic calendars. Most educational institutes have shifted to online learning platforms to keep the academic activities going. However, the questions about the preparedness, designing and effectiveness of e-learning is still not clearly understood, particularly for a developing country like India. From the last few years, the technological advancement and increased users of internet made everything’s easier for everyone. If you want to purchase anything you will access online Shopping sites and order product to get at your hand. Whereas new way of getting education is online education/ virtual education/ E-learning. In this study, I focused on understanding UG and PG Student’s perception and preference towards the online learning through an online survey of 40 students. The present study is based on a quantitative and sample survey approach. The results indicated that majority of the respondents (70%) are ready to opt for online classes to manage the curriculum during this pandemic. The responders were also asked about the helpfulness and efficacy of online classes where it is found that majority of the responders were finding online classes helpful and efficient during pandemic. The responders were also asked that once the pandemic ends, which mode of classes they would prefer, 70% prefers the traditional classroom while the rest of 30% prefers the combination of traditional classes and online classes, and there is no single responder who prefers only online classes even after the end of pandemic. However, in post graduation education system where many courses are practical oriented, shifting completely to online mode may not be possible and need to device a hybrid mode, the insights from this article can be helpful in designing the curriculum for the new normal. The government must take certain remedial measures to overcome the challenges in online classes and reduce the digital divide so that no students will be left out.