Innovating Education, Eradicating Inequality
The economic scene in India, as we already know, is clearly unequal. This disparity is grossly visible to the entire world. A recent survey by the Oxfam International, India had put forward a report that mentioned that the top 1% of the entire population holds four times the wealth held by the bottom 70% of the population. A funny anecdote relating to the wealth disparity in India would be the fact that the Union Budget of India for the year 2018-2019 was less than the total wealth of the top billionaires in India.
The survey further mentions that the wealth of almost 50% of the bottom population equals the wealth of the top 9 billionaires in India. It has been often observed that education helps in equalizing this disparity. However, the Oxfam Report further highlights how education in the country is divided by wealth, class, gender, and other privileges and exclusions. This inequality in the education system reinforces the economic and social disparities.
Moreover, it is essential to mention that geography plays a significant role in increasing this disparity in education. Most semi-urban or rural schools lack infrastructure and facilities compared to the modern and high-tech schools in the cities. Additionally, due to the high population density in the cities, the availability of schools is also high, resulting in many great options for the children.
On the other hand, children in rural areas have to travel long hours to reach a standard school. The new generation schools in the cities provide an all-around growth-oriented education to the students, which is rarely possible in rural schools. It is high time that we make attempts to reduce these differences in education in the country.
Technology in today’s world intends to change itself faster than one complete rotation of the earth. Consequently, it becomes essential for every industry to keep up with these changing technologies. The educational system should not be far away from using this technology in order to improve the future of the country. The boom in educational technology that has suddenly arrived due to the pandemic has turned out to be an eye-opener for many reasons. Researchers admit that the online educational system can erase or at least reduce these inequalities in the educational sector.
Another survey report by the Annual Status of Education Report 2020 (Wave-1) highlighted that the percentage of children studying in either government or private schools and owning smartphones has increased in leaps and bounds. From a mere 36.5 percent in 2018, it has increased to 61.8 per cent in 2020 and that too in semi-urban and rural areas. This study suggests that the means of providing online education has already reached the majority of the population. The present requirement is then to provide these children’s quality education at their homes. The recent Economic Survey highlighted that India would have the highest population of young children in India in the next ten years. Hence, providing them the right quality of education becomes extremely essential right now.
The government is making several attempts to implement different initiatives in making education more accessible to children and simplifying learning during the Covid pandemic. One of their initiatives includes a PM eVIDYA program that enables teachers and students to get equal access to education. Furthermore, the government has introduced guidelines on digital education under the name of PRAGYATA to focus on online education for children stuck in their homes and who cannot go to school due to the Covid pandemic. Following the government’s footsteps, many e-schools are coming up to provide quality education to children all over the country, both wide and far.
Teachze is one such initiative aiming to provide children with transparent and quality education through technology, giving the least regard to their economic disparity or geographical location or situation. Today, education is not just about increasing knowledge; it involves developing critical skills and human values and a deeper understanding for solving life issues in the future. Teachze helps children achieve overall growth and development through their flexible academic pursuits and certified and dedicated teachers. This exceptional curriculum includes thousands of online lessons, engaging content and interactive sessions, and individualized learning.
According to a recent data by the U.S. Department of Education, in normal school curriculum courses, most students do not have access to most of such courses that will prepare them for college and career. The situation is not very different from closer home. It is observed that these digital gaps can be easily and inexpensively narrowed and can help in constructively dealing with grave issues such as child labour, ill-prepared teachers, large classroom requirements, and lack of accessibility to formal education.
This ed-tech education system helps increase connectivity, increases technological knowledge, and makes the teaching approach more dynamic. Live & Online education allows the students to develop self-management skills and self-awareness skills that help in the individualised development of the child. This happens to be a win-win situation for both teachers and students. With the help of well-trained teachers, many educational disparities can be effectively erased, resulting in an equal distribution of education and knowledge in all parts of the country.
Education in today’s world needs to be more innovative and inspiring, and ed-tech offers these, keeping aside the educational disparities based on geographical location or economic background, or class differences. Online education offers better learning experiences, better resources, good use of digital content, and preparing students for college, career, and life experiences. The Covid pandemic has been an eye-opener and helped us understand the significance of online learning and ed-tech in present times. Let us now grab these opportunities available in the form of Teachze to not lose out in the race of giving our country a better, prosperous, and enlightened future.
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