5 Challenges In The Indian Education System That Can Be Solved Using Technology

Education forms the backbone of every individual. It transforms a person holistically by shaping their behaviours, preferences, skills, and mindsets. The Indian education system is an ever-evolving market. Ever since the pandemic outbreak, it has been experiencing its fair share of ups and downs. However, the segment being resilient in its approach has been treading on the path to recovery and growth.

 Resolving the barriers faced by the Indian educational system through technology

Since digital adoption has been the recent trend, even the education sector has been prompt to embrace technologies. The surge in the adoption of ed-tech platforms is a prominent instance of the same. However, the fact of the matter is that the sector continues to various challenges. What needs to be understood and acknowledged is that they can be dealt with effectively with the assistance of technology.

 Lack of hands-on learning

The curriculum in the Indian educational system usually focuses on rote learning. It is theoretical heavy. This implies that teachers stress more on the understanding of concepts but somehow miss out on practical learning. Visual content and real-world applications of solutions are often not implemented. This is where technology can be used to transform conventional education into engaging and interactive experiences and foster hands-on learning in the truest sense. When this will happen, education will be the perfect balance of theoretical concepts and practical learning.

 Budget constraints

Earlier education meant travelling to school and attending classes physically. This comes with incurred costs of infrastructure and facilities that the school would have to provide to the students. And even the pupils would have to invest their time, efforts, and finances to commute to school every day. However, with technology, the market has been able to surpass all restrictions related to geographies and finances. Education is becoming an anytime, anywhere concept, all thanks to the digital revolution.

 Grades to be the deciding factor of students’ performance

Even now, grades are considered to be the deciding factor of a student’s intelligence and performance. And extra-curricular activities are considered to be a deviation from studies. In an ideal case scenario, the one who scores above 90% is considered to be a bright student. However, this perspective needs to change. A student scoring less could in fact be intellectual and knowledgeable. Marks cannot decide the intelligence of a student. The technology could help deal with this challenge by modifying the way exams are conducted. Instead of hour-long examinations that are again theoretically based, tech solutions are now helping in enhancing the communication capability, instilling and testing practical knowledge as well as involving students in co-curricular activities.

 Linear growth

Education has for long been the only destination for students to build a career. It used to solely focus on enhancing the students’ knowledge bank and skill them pertaining to their long-term vision of the future. However, ed-tech platforms are helping to cope with this issue by focusing on the holistic development of the students. Apart from subject knowledge, hands-on learning, practical exposure, and soft skills development are now integral parts of the educational processes facilitated by technology in today’s times. In fact, now educational experiences can be customized and personalized as per individual students’ requirements. This was amiss in the traditional educational setup!

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 Education with traditional methods

Until now, teachers used to teach every subject in the same way to all the students within the same classroom. The studies were hence conducted in a linear and traditional manner. However, with technology, the mundane concepts have transformed into immersive experiences. The educational content has now become high-end and tech-savvy with visual representations and audio-visual capabilities. These elements help enhance the content’s quality and ensure that studies become interactive and engaging for the students so that they are able to grasp the concepts better.

Ed-tech: The effective tool to deal with challenges

Education was always working with a conventional approach. With technology, not only are remote and hybrid learning becoming mainstream; but even the quality of education is being improvised. The Indian educational market does face its fair share of challenges during its journey of growth and transformation. It is indeed a roller coaster ride.

In such a scenario, the ed-tech platforms are making concerted efforts to ensure that every roadblock can be sailed through seamlessly. They are leveraging the power of technology to help the education market overcome the barriers and ensure learning becomes entertaining as well as engaging along with focusing on holistic development. It is expected that incorporating technological innovations via the ed-tech route can help solve the issues faced by the Indian educational system significantly!

Kiran Dham is the Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O.) and Head of the Globus Infocom Limited. The views expressed are the author's own.