“Necessity is the mother of invention” is an old saying. This means that necessity is the driving force behind the solutions found to difficult situations.
The situation created by coronavirus has forced people to find solutions to the problems created by this calamity.
Since isolation is one of the requirements to escape the menace and is also part of treatment, the government has closed many institutions, including the teaching institutions of all levels. And with millions of students confined to their homes their studies are getting affected.
On the other hand, the business of countless private educational institutions is also being affected as they are left with no justification to charge hefty fees without teaching the students.
This has led to the idea of online education across the country. Although the system was being practiced even earlier, it was not at such a large scale as now. The institutions which had not adapted it so far are switching to it now – to serve their business interests.
There is a dire need to promote this mode of teaching for the long-term benefit of teachers, students, as well as the educational institutions.
With the spreading of the system, teachers will not have to cover long distances to reach their educational institutions. Students will also get the same benefit and the teaching centres will not have to make the kind of arrangements they have to.
In other words, the use of vehicles needed to cover long distances, fuel needed to run them can be saved as also the time consumed in travelling to and from the institutions. Traffic on roads will come down drastically.
Just imagine for a while how many bureaucrats use their official vehicles to send their kids to schools, colleges and universities and bring them back.
With the promotion of online teaching, the misuse of official vehicles will come down. Likewise, private vehicles, motorcycles, used by teachers and student to reach their respective institutions will not be required anymore.
A thin traffic on roads will be matter of great relief to the general public.
Another benefit of this mode of teaching that can’t be calculated or quantified is that there will be no need for three-month annual summer vacations. These vacations are mere waste of time. The students have to pay their fees without getting anything in return and the teachers pocket salaries without rendering any service.
If the new system – forced by necessity – is continued there will be no need for the summer vacations and the teachers and students will not have to experience scorching heat of these months.
The relevant authorities should seriously look into the possibility of promoting this system at a large scale.
Although initially there will be some problems in the adoption of the system, ultimately it will benefit all concerned. With an army of experienced hands available in the country, the system can be improved to meet the requirements of changing times.