Online Education: Ending an apartheid (Financial Express)

Mains Paper 2:Education 
Prelims level: Ilbert Bill of 1884
Mains level: Role of online education to reduce the existing challenges in global higher education institutions 

Context:

• India’s current online university regulations create a similar apartheid by allowing only seven of our 993 universities to launch online courses; 
• During the Covid-19 lockdown overseas universities have signed up 100,000+ students in India for online courses. 
• The lockdown exposes the folly and unfairness of the UGC 2018 online regulations; 
• It must immediately allow all accredited universities to launch online courses with full flexibility in design, delivery, and assessment. 

Enrolments in Indian universities: 

• India’s universities have delivered quantity, but uneven quality and employability. 
• There have roughly 38 million university students; of these, 34 million are on campuses, 4 million are in traditional distance education, and only 25,000 students have opted for online education. 
• UGC banned online education in 2015, but notified new licensing guidelines in 2018. 
• Since then, UGC has only licensed seven universities for online courses. 

CLICK HERE FOR FULL EDITORIAL (Only for Course Members)

This raises three important questions:

• Why aren’t all accredited universities automatically allowed to launch online courses when India can’t stop overseas universities from signing students in India? 
• Why distinguish between licensing for paper-based distance learning and online learning? 
• Why not give universities flexibility in curriculum, design, delivery, and assessment of online courses rather than force them to be the equivalent of an ATM machine with a teller physically handing out cash?

The Ilbert Bill of 1884: 

• It is a proposed law that would make English and Indian judges equal in the British Raj.
• It was withdrawn after an uproar from Englishmen that benefited from the apartheid.

Pre-existing challenges in higher education system: 

• The global higher education system has ten multi-decade, pre-existing challenges. 
• Crisis of affordability:Many US college classrooms now cost $200 per hour. 
• Crisis of education returns:Estimates before Covid-19 suggested that 50% of the $1.5 trillion student debt (`1,14,75,150 crore) was slated to default. 
• Broken promise of employability: The college graduates include 60% of Korean taxi drivers, 31% of US retail checkout clerks in the US, and 15% of Indian high-end security guards. 
• Differential needs of adult learners: They need anytime, anywhere, and affordable learning that they can do concurrently with their jobs. 
• Massive shortage of quality faculty. 
• Problem of diversity: The typical university student is no longer an 18-year old privileged urban male studying full-time; today’s students are just as likely to be female, poor, older, from rural areas, or studying part-time. These education outsiders need more flexible admission criteria, rolling admissions, continuous assessments, on-demand, on-the-go, always-on, qualification modularity and multi-modal delivery. 
• Change in the definition of employability:The most important 21st-century skill is learning how to learn. 
• Create a new balance between repair, prepare and upgrade:A new world of work where employment shifting from a lifetime contract to a taxicab relationship needs a new balance between repair, prepare and upgrade.
• Blurring of the line between corporate training and higher education; research suggests that employed-learners are expected to cross traditional learners within five years. 
• The attractive self-financing, employability and signalling value of degree linked apprenticeships. 
• Online higher education not only addresses these ten challenges, but the lockdown has brought forward its destiny from 2030 to 2020 in one month.
• Many Indian universities don’t balance cost, quality, scale, and employability because regulations stifle innovation. 

Modification of UGC Online Regulations 2018:

• The UGC Online Regulations 2018 needs modification in five ways; 
• a) Remove clauses 4(1)(i), 4(1)(ii), 4(1) (iii), and 6 that restrict licensing, and prescribe a discretionary approval process and replace them with something that authorises all accredited universities to design, develop and deliver their own online programmes. 
• b) Modify clause 4 (2) to allow innovation, flexibility, and relevance in an online curriculum that allows universities to work closely with industries on their list of courses, and ensure the integrity of purpose.
• c) Rewrite clause 7(2)(i) appropriately to allow universities to work with the best technology platforms without holding them hostage to a state sponsored system. 
• d) Modify clause 7(3)(viii) to allow rolling admissions, and, 
• e) Replace clause 7(2)(vi) with clause 4(4)(iv) to allow technology-driven, on-demand, and credible online assessments.

Conclusion:

• The Covid crisis of 2020 should lead to Poorna Swaraj for all Indian universities to go online.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL EDITORIAL (Only for Course Members)

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q.1)With reference to the non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), consider the following statements:
1. Banks have to invest the funds availed under targeted long-term repo operation (TLTRO), in investment grade bonds, commercial paper, and non-convertible debentures of NBFCs.
2. The RBI has decided to provide special refinance facility of ₹50,000 crore to NABARD, SIDBI and NHB to enable them to meet sectoral credit needs. 

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer................

CLICK HERE FOR FULL EDITORIAL (Only for Course Members)

Mains Questions:
Q.1)What is the Ilbert bill of 1884? What are the pre existing challenges in global higher education system? How Indian education institutions can address this challenges by modification of UGC Online regulations of 2018?