Digital University to provide quality education at the doorstep – Times of India

Much as the Ministry of Education and different stakeholders are working to give shape to the Digital University announced in the 2022 Union Budget, the idea is still at a nascent stage, with plans to speed up the process. As to how such a university can be effective in a country with uneven internet access, AICTE chairman
Anil Sahasrabudhe says, “India is one of those countries where internet penetration 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 connectivity. In the next year, all 7 lakh villages are going to have a broadband connection. 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 mother tongue, and at the doorstep.”

Widening access
Highlighting the fact that brick and mortar universities alone cannot increase the gross enrolment ratio (GER) from 27% to 50% as laid out by the NEP, which also means having an additional 10 million students in the higher education system, Sahasrabudhe adds, “The GER in the last 75 years since Independence has moved from 0.7% to 27%. Due to limited physical infrastructure, the existing 60,000 colleges can never hope to achieve 50% GER, and to build another 60,000 colleges will require huge funds and resources. The Digital University may be the only means to address the limitations of seats and quality education.”

IIT level education

The University will aim to provide affordable education, be it degree, diploma, skill/vocational courses, he adds. “Those students who are unable to secure seats in the IITs can still have IIT level education from their homes owing to the hub and spoke model, where top NIRF ranked institutions will be the spokes.” He also emphasises that SWAYAM courses that are available for blended learning can be integrated into the Digital University system once the University gets rolling.

Transfer of credits

Uma Shankar Pandey, principal, School of Open Learning (SOL), DU and member of the Expert Committee, Distance Education Bureau (DEB), UGC, explains that the University has come at a timely juncture, specially since the pandemic has made digital education more pertinent. “The University will provide tech-enabled learning and AI-based internal assessment at every step to address the needs of each student. Even regular students will be benefitted with provisions to get their credits transferred from Digital Universities to regular mode and vice versa,” Pandey 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 advantage as they can attend traditional classes while still taking online courses. Teaching in-person however, is always richer in content than teaching online. The contours of the Digital University are still not very clear. We need to know to what extent it can contribute to the overall education. Let us hope it evolves in the coming years,” he adds.