Preparing for Digital Education: A Review of the Educational Policy Response to COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 Pandemic has disrupted the educational system across the world, as millions of students and educators have dislocated from their university spaces to their homes. Lockdown and social distancing measures have highlighted the issues in the education system in India. To address the educational disruption caused by the pandemic, different policies and plans were prepared by the University Grants Commission, Ministry of Education, Government of India. In the process, the state and educational administrators have turned their attention towards technology-mediated teaching and remote access classroom setup. In the backdrop of this context, the present research critically examines the educational plans and policies that were developed to provide quality education to all during the crisis. In particular, it applies document analysis as a research method, to investigate the drivers and barriers in the implementation of these policies. The research review reveals in response to the pandemic and technological advancements, the sector anticipates massive scalability of blended learning. Yet, there are some barriers, such as access to digital infrastructure, online learning competencies and pedagogies that would lead to socio-economic disparities in educational outcomes. Therefore, it is important for the students, educators, and practitioners to understand the essence of these plans and policies and address the crisis of unprecedented disruption. It is also deemed helpful for the educational stakeholders to build up a long-term resilient education system for quality education, as emphasised by SDG4 in the post-covid world.