We, at North Storm Academy, bring to you our first-ever “Principal Conclave” where we discuss “Indian Education” comprehensively with expert Principals of two prestigious colleges! 

With the outbreak of COVID-19, classrooms have transformed into online video conference sessions, making revolutionary changes in the patterns and system of educational tools, methodology and techniques. For these online video conferencing, several platforms have cropped up, including- Zoom, Google Classrooms, etc.

Seizing this opportunity, we bring forth the best possible way to spread digital education in these trying times. Be a part of our “Principal Conclave”, where we talk about “Indian Education” in great detail along with our knowledgeable speakers: Ashok Wadia, Principal – Jai Hind College and Kishore Peshori, Principal – MMK College. 

Make the most of your digital journey with us!

The principal of Jai Hind College, Ashok Wadia, who has been associated with Jai Hind college since 2011, firmly believes that learning never truly stops no matter the age. He added that any good opportunity should be seized at all costs.

The principal of MMK college, Dr. Kishore Peshori firmly believes that today’s world is one that of collaboration and corroboration. He reckons that we all are learners first and educators later. He also added that learning gives us new experience every day.

The PRINCIPAL CONCLAVE addressed 10 crucial questions regarding the “Digital Transformation of Indian Education”.

 

Some of the following questions are:

How different you think colleges will operate in post COVID-19 era?

Different colleges will operate differently. Colleges situated in urban areas will have a different approach to the ones in rural areas. The facilities such as the digital approach, infrastructure and space availability are some key factors that will create a difference in the way the colleges tackle this crisis.

For example, colleges in rural areas may continue classroom classes because of space availability. This plays a vital role in ensuring safe physical and social distance between students. At the same time, all the students might not have the facilities required to attend online classes.

On the other hand, colleges in urban areas may use online classes to a certain extent. Colleges would require flip classrooms for blended learning since there is a space crunch, especially in cities. To counter this problem, classes will be running in shifts and a limited number of students will be attending these classes to maintain the needed social distance. Since 30-40% of students come to Mumbai’s top colleges from all over India, this creates a necessity to segregate students based on where they are residing within the city of Mumbai. Students coming from far off places need more precautions. Some of them may fail to attend online classes due to the lack of proper digital devices. Therefore they will have to come to college where teachers will be maintaining a safe distance from students. The class will, then, be recorded and sent to those who have the desired technologies to watch the recording of these classes. This will help to reduce the number of students attending the college, hence increase social distancing as much as possible.

Different approaches will be required to tackle this problem. There’s no one solution to this problem. All these approaches will have health as a primary concern.

What would be your advice to faculty and students during the lockdown period? Best way to invest time.

Time is money. Having the mindset that understands this concept is very important. Nothing in life is permanent. Not even a virus for that matter.

Students are required to hone their skill-set in these times of uncertainty. They should imbibe futuristic skill so that they can be job-ready or be a job-creator. Instead of playing games in their free time, they should learn how to create those games. They can even learn new languages through various online platforms which will help them to gain knowledge. Developing good communication skills and soft skills will ensure that students ace interview rounds and will also help them in their over-all personality development. Integrating these crucial future skills is the need of the hour.

Teachers, too, are required to improve their existing skill-set by learning more about the new technologies. Learning how to teach the student on an online platform such as through effective presentations would help in making the students inquisitive. Instead of providing e-certificates to students, they should put value in their teachings by broadening their knowledge base.

How has your personal experience been like during the COVID-19 lockdown period? 

People have lost track of time and days. Colleges have been receiving innumerable calls every day, even of weekends, because people have become very anxious in these trying time. Therefore, it has started to effected everyone’s mental and physical well-being. Some are even finding it hard to spend some quality time with their families. It has become extremely important more than ever to have fixed timings for calls and online webinars or meetings since it has started creating an unhealthy environment which has resulted in lack of sleep, improper eating habits and poor time management.

During COVID-19 the screen-time in urban India has reached 4 hours a day, what is your advice on the best way to spend this time?

There is a serious impact on individuals’ mental and physical well-being due to the constant 6 to 8 hours of screen time. These include- bad posture, poor eyesight, neck and shoulders pain, back problems, eye dryness or redness due to the radiations and harmful artificial light coming from the electronic devices, and so on.

Therefore, it has become extremely necessary to have breaks in between your screen time. Nobody should be glued to their device’s screen. The number of hours one spends on cellphones/laptops for work or learning purposes, playing games should be monitored to reduce the negative impact of electronic devices on human health. The important thing here is to discipline oneself and master time management skills. Applications such as “screentime” and “focus”, help people avoid excessive screen time on their devices.

 

Indian education is becoming increasingly expensive year on year, should something be done to have respite for at least next 2 years?

Aided colleges or colleges affiliated to Mumbai University have pocket-friendly education. Since 2009, inflation has not affected the fee of the courses. These colleges are charging a very meager amount compared to private colleges or universities. Fee structure ranges from ₹2,000 to ₹7,000. Advance courses taught by industry experts are charged a little more because there is a need to finance such courses. On the other hand, some schools, like IB schools, charge expensively from students. High-priced educational institutes do not necessarily provide quality education. Regardless of the fee, parents should get their children enrolled in quality education providing institutes. By cutting the expenditure cost on coaching classes, parents can afford college fee in these trying times. 

Tell us certain challenged that you faced and creative solutions college was able to come during the pandemic lockdown

Respond, Recover, Reemerge