Covid19 has claimed over 963 hundred thousand lives worldwide and unimaginable financial loss to almost every country and still counting. World Health Organization is predicting a second wave of the virus and many European countries are already imposing new lockdowns. Loss of valuable lives and financial loss which may result in further loss of irreplaceable lives is an absolute catastrophe. We cannot imagine the pain of the relatives and families that have lost their loved ones and the financial loss that every business has to bear. The world would take a long time to recover from those atrocities and we all pray for a speedy recovery. But this pandemic has made us realize that there are many routines that we have adopted a way of life can be changed and should be changed for the better and changing the way we educate the young generation is one of them.
As far as the current and conventional education system is concerned, it was already feeling the burden of the rapidly increasing population and outdated practices and there were sincere cries to change the system over as in the modern times there were flaws and drawbacks that were showing that this rustic system is no longer able to keep up with the changing world and has almost run its course. One of the best examples in Pakistan is TopGrade.pk, an online entry test preparation platform, they had been around for the last three years and until 2019 were facing category awareness issues. However, with the covid19, they saw exponential growth. This is just one example.
Pitfalls of Conventional Education System and Conveniences of its Substitute
Make no mistake the conventional education system is not all bad as we are all a product of the same conventional education system and it has produced some of the greatest minds of all times. The argument is that in modern times the conventional system is not as effective and is unable to provide the same liberties and opportunities as can be presented by the new alternative systems such as online learning. This conundrum has given space to the welcoming change of diverting our means of acquiring education towards new mediums instead of relying upon the old tried and tested methods. Online education has emerged as a saviour to provide education to our younger generation with surprisingly pleasant results. Online education was an alternative that was adopted reluctantly by the institutes but proved to be an effective and reliable method. Here not only we would discuss the flaws of the current system but the advantages that the online system may present.
Hampering Individual Progress
Every individual would like to peruse their own interests. It is not in the best of the interest of students to make them concentrate on the subjects or matters that they do not show interest in and ignore them from the side where they do have an actual interest.
Online learning addresses this issue quite brilliantly and provides tailored learning where every individual can take specialized learning courses of their choice and are not pressurized to go with the flow even if they have no interest in that. Online lectures are a useful tool and can help anyone with individual interest without becoming a hindrance in their progress.
Time Keeping Flexibility
We are all well aware of the normal studies timing, you wake up in the morning and come rain or sunshine you just do your thing and try to learn in the time that is allotted to you by your educational institute. Well, times have changed and we all have things to do and responsibilities to share so here online learning comes to our rescue once again. There is no set timing in online learning and we can do the learning in our own time while fulfilling our responsibilities as well.
Forced Attendance
It does not matter if we are interested in a subject or if we feel the need to attend a particular subject. In the conventional education system, you have to attain a certain attendance record to even have a chance of a bright future. Online learning frees you from such shekels. You attend your desired subjects and can skip the lectures that you feel you are well prepared for already.
Overpriced
There is no doubt that in order to keep the overheads running, conventional educational institutes have high demands and the conventional system is not cheap. Instructors salaries and overheads mean high fee demands and most students end up taking loans.
The online system has the liberty of taking advantage of low-cost operations. There are no overheads to worry about and no faculty to pay for and no buildings to look after. As a result, students can have an economical way of learning.
Preferential Treatment
In the educational setup where human interaction is a norm, you are bound to have favourite students that you pay extra attention to. It may be a good thing for the individuals but its bad news for the rest of the class who would have their time taken away from them.
With online learning, this situation should not arise as there is no human interaction and learning is through online classes so everyone plays on a level playing field and has the same chances as the others.
Inconsistent
The conventional educational system has way too many variables that are hard to control successfully. You always have more chances of inconsistency when dealing with such a system.
Online learning is based on such a platform that there are no inconsistencies and as long as the student is interested, everything runs smoothly. Lectures, tests and quick revisions are the same for everyone and anyone can attempt them any time. There is no issue of changing of tutor or method of learning.
Albert Einstein once said that in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. Covid19 may have brought difficult times for us but we must not forget that it introduced us to the new opportunities as well and adapting to a new way of learning is one of them and we must take advantage of it as this is the way forward.