The spread of the COVID virus has greatly impacted the education industry. Schools and colleges are closed temporarily. Exams are postponed. Students are left with no option but to stay and study at home. Due to lockdown, parents are facing a huge financial crisis and are unable to bear the cost of education of their children. Education institutes too are worried about the future and due to lack of funds are laying off teachers or paying half or no salary. The situation might be the same for the rest of the year. The education industry of India is worth $91.7 billion and will now witness a sudden decline in the coming years. The International education industry is also negatively impacted and may incur a loss worth billions. America, Europe, and Australia have been the main hub for International education and every year lakhs of students from around the world migrate to pursue higher education in such countries. But this year the situation is different, Lockdown and travel restrictions might shatter the dreams of many students who worked hard and dreamed of studying abroad.
To contain the spread of COVID-19, Governments around the world ordered the closure of all the educational institutions. This approximately affected more than 1 billion students and learners. Lockdown is in place and people are left with no option but to work from home. Teachers too are working from home. Teachers are taking online classes and taking every measure to keep the student in touch with the syllabus.
Thanks to the internet and technology, teachers and students can connect with each other. With help, electronic devices, and some amazing apps like zoom, Skype and Google meet, professionals, teachers, and trainers are able to teach students and conduct online workshops and courses.
The share of teaching and course material has become easy. The application software’s like PDF, Ms Office, and Google docs, data, and information could be circulated around the world within a few seconds. Website like YouTube and Udemy have come to the rescue of students. Websites like Udemy are offering courses at affordable prices. In this lockdown, the e-learning business has grown by leaps and bounds.
The pandemic has significantly disrupted the higher education sector as well, which is a critical determinant of a country’s economic future. The bigger concern, however, on everybody’s mind is the effect of the disease on the employment rate. Recent graduates in India are fearing withdrawal of job offers from corporates because of the current situation.
In conclusion, it can be stated that the education industry in India has a huge potential for future growth and it is bound to grow in the next two decades. It presently offers immense opportunities to investors seeking low-risk returns as it is a recession-proof industry. If the initiatives of the government succeed, India may see a more skilled workforce emerging in the next few years.
Though the teachers and students are finding it difficult to cope up with the crisis, e-learning has given them some hope and situation might return to normal soon. But, the revival of education industry is critical to the growth of India.
Yukti Kumar @ Samacharline
