VIRTUAL EVENT: Has the COVID-19 pandemic accentuated inequality in the higher education sector?

The pandemic led lockdown has severely disrupted the Indian economy, and the education sector is perhaps one of the worst hit sectors.

As a fallout of the pandemic, educational institutions were forced to remain shut and even after more than seven months, it is highly uncertain when they will resume classes in the regular mode. 

Higher education institutions struggling to connect with the student community quickly shifted to the online mode. Interestingly, most of them acknowledge the prevalence of digital divide in India, yet its exclusionary potential has perhaps escaped notice. 

Further, the massive job loss has adversely impacted the paying capacity of households; possibly forcing students to abandon higher education.

This talk will draw on available data to show how the online mode of teaching and learning has created a false notion of reaching out to the student community, and inadvertently discriminating against those unable to join the virtual classroom.

Speaker

• Nivedita Sarkar, Ambedkar University Delhi

Links

• Centre for Global Higher Education
• Department of Education, Practice and Society

Image: Element5 Digital via Unsplash