Much as theministry of Education and different stakeholders are working to give sha pe to the Digital University announced in the 2022 Union Budget, the idea is still at a nascent stage, with plans to speed up the pro cess. As to how such a uni versity can be effective in a country with uneven inter net access, AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe says, "India is one of those count ries where internet penetra tion is down to the smallest of places though we have not been able to complete 100% coverage. However, we have penetrated all the districts, and of the 6-7 lakh villages, more than 2.5 lakh villages have internet con nectivity. In the next year, all 7 lakh villages are going to have a broadband con nection. Even the data cost in India is the cheapest in the world, so the discussion on the digital divide will no longer hold ground once our targets are met. This will enable us to provide education, even in the mot her tongue, and at the doorstep."
Widening access
Highlighting the fact that brick and mortar universiti es alone cannot increase the gross enrolment ratio (GER) from 27% to 50% as laid out by the NEP, which also me ans having an additional 10 million students in the hig her education system, Sa hasrabudhe adds, "The GER in the last 75 years since In dependence has moved from 0.7% to 27% . Due to li mited physical infrastructu re, the existing 60,000 colle ges can never hope to achie ve 50% GER, and to build another 60,000 colleges will require huge funds and reso urces. The Digital University may be the only means to address the limitations of se ats and quality education."
IIT level education
The University will aim to provide affordable educa tion, be it degree, diploma, skill/vocational courses, he adds. "Those students who are unable to secure seats in the IITs can still have IIT le vel education from their ho mes owing to the hub and spoke model, where top NIRF ranked institutions will be the spokes," he says, elaborating that SWAYAM courses that are available for blended learning can also be integrated into the Digital University system once the University gets rolling.
Transfer of credits
Uma Shankar Pandey, offi ciating principal, School of Open Learning (SOL), DU and member of the Expert Committee, Distance Edu cation Bureau (DEB), UGC, explains that the Universi ty has come at a timely junc ture, specially since the pandemic has made digital education more pertinent. "The University will provi de tech-enabled learning and AI-based internal as sessment at every step to address the needs of each student. Even regular stu dents will be benefitted with provisions to get their credits transferred from the Digital University to regu lar mode and vice versa,' he adds.
Added support
But the University, is still at a conceptual stage and will be a supplementary method, says BJ Rao, vice chancellor, University of Hyderabad.
"Students will be at an ad vantage as they can attend traditional classes while still taking online courses. Tea ching in-person however, is always richer in content than teaching online. The contours of the Digital Uni versity are still not very cle ar. We need to know to what extent it can contribute to the overall education. Let us hope it evolves in the coming years," Rao adds.
Published on :- Times of India
Date :- 28 02 2022
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