Covid Pandemic is probably one of the good things to have happened to Indian Higher Education.

Indian higher education was in a state of stagnation. Same routine discussions, outcries, responses of managements and reactions by the government. It was in a rut so to say. This pandemic has suddenly made everyone sit up, take notice, and forced many changes in the way students, faculty & even the regulators think and behave. Classroom Learning : Nobody ever thought why higher education requires classroom learning. In India, even the most famous institutions were very happy with the status quo. While in actual practice higher education should have encouraged students and teachers alike to devote more time for researching, learning on their own. Why should college going students of professional and even other courses spend so much time in class and not in the field learning the ropes while doing internships, etc. was not even entering the minds of the power that be. But this pandemic has changed it all. I am sure in the times to come, dependence on classroom learning is bound to reduce to the benefit of students with more time allotted to internships and researching on their own for students with teachers providing sparks to ignite minds of the student community. Admissions : Admissions to higher education was luckily one bright spot where technology had already made its inroads. With many government's and private institutions already embracing the most transparent means of online system of admission process for professional courses, I hope, this would now be extended to admissions across the board at all levels, in times to come to avoid crowding and maintaining 'social distancing". Examinations : This is one area where we in India are lagging as penetration of internet is not to the desired levels even though many distance learning universities are indeed conducting their exams online but the centers are unfortunately located only in urban areas. GoI's plans of providing fiber connectivity to even the remotest village will come in handy in future to conduct exams online. Placements and Internships : This pandemic has opened this Pandora's box! Many corporates were already interviewing and offering placements via virtual interviews, now after this, I am sure many more will definitely follow suit. However, internships are a different cup of tea and here students will need to be physically present to learn tricks of the trade. Others : Pandemic has definitely forced us to think out of the box. Education will not be the same again in future.

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Yes. I feel that Covid pandemic is good to digitalize the Indian higher education. It is time to implement the digital education for students by all the well- known universities/colleges. Digital education system is essential in this pandemic situation and necessity is the mother of invention. This is the right time to implement and enhance the digital education. It is free from time restrictions. So, the education system and parents both should keep an eye on student’s activities so that they go on the right path.

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Another positive aspect that can be associated with this pandemic, specifically for the higher education institutions in India is that the number of students were going abroad for their Masters or Bachelors is significantly going to decrease and also there would be a abundance of working professionals seeking re-skilling through short term courses owing to the changes in the requirement pattern of the industry. This will be a huge opportunity for the higher education institutions. However, only those higher education institutions would be able to harvest these benefits who are able to provide these new age technologies as demanded by this target population. Ultimately, this will lead to an overall technological level in the universities and higher education institutions.

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First and foremost, I wish everyone well in these challenging times.

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A benefit that the higher education institutions can accrue from this recently established online delivery mechanism is that they would be able to cater to the academic requirements of millions of those who wanted an academic upgradation but due to their own constraints were unable to do the same through the conventional educational system.

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For long now, the education sector was experiencing nudges and pushes not only from within but also from the outside world as well to improvise upon its delivery strategies and equip itself with alternatives. Although we were making rapid progressions in that direction but ultimately, I believe that this pandemic provided that quantum jump to almost all the higher education institutions in India that they could make a swift shift over from in person teaching mode to online teaching. What this whole thing did was that it equipped educational institutions for any kind of contingencies that the future might have. Hats off to our faculty and special reference to the learners that this shift over was really swift. This whole thing and the exercise led to the development of a highly reliable and of course tested online delivery mechanism. Nevertheless, in this regard, the contributions of the various app developers and the internet service providers cannot be ignored.

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A significant issue with this pandemic is that solution or basically coming out of it is highly unpredictable so the planning to neutralize its impact and the development of remedies to get back on track is getting more and more difficult. Basically, whatever possible solutions that might be devised for this problem will have to have an important ingredient that is living with it.

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As time changes, education system also changes. Nowadays schools, colleges and even universities like The NorthCap University Gurugram becomes totally online for teaching and learning process. Many wonderful platforms are available right now for example Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Webex Meet, etc. Practicals, assignments, quizzes even online exams are conducting successfully. Faculty members and students are even busier in their jobs. In this crisis, traditional white boards, black boards have been replaced completely by modern technology.

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In Continuation. 7. This online assessment has hastened the process of offering Open-Book tests, which was earlier considered as a test offered only in the elitist of institutes. 8. The recording of online video classes has brought about the much needed support of self-paced reading with regards to the grasping ability of a particular student. Now students who were distracted during the class have a option to revisit the class innumerable times. 9. Regarding Admissions, we foresee major colleges adopt to fully completing the admission process online. Using Video Conferencing, and reworking on their backed support and relying mainly on the frontend college websites for revamping the entire process. 10. Students are now more aware and concerned about their careers and look for additional skills to improve their repertoire. They are attending many online classes, webinars, from all around the world, which very few students would have done during earlier times. Darwin's theory of The survival of the fittest is apt for the present situation as students and institutions who make the most of the current situation and adapt themselves will be the long term beneficiaries. There are more points to it than meets the eye. Most importantly, the positive change in mindset of the institutions, faculty and the students have galloped towards embracing a transformational change in the education sector. The teaching and learning will never be the same again, I say this with all humility and believe in the true spirit of hope!

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Yes absolutely, this has been a blessing in disguise for those institutions that are willing to change their old-school habits. They are forced to adopt new measures, techniques, strategies to reform the Teaching - Learning Process. While it would have taken a relatively longer time to implement such reforms in the shortest possible time period. As we are always looking for excuses to defer the changes. This has come as a boon to such institutions who are willing to make positive, forward-thinking changes to the education system. I am reminded of a meme, that I received lately, regarding the main reason for bringing about a reformation in the delivery of education in India. It was neither the MHRD, nor the UGC, but in fact the most-dreaded Covid-19 social distancing, lockdown regulations enforced by the Government Agencies. A few positive outcomes: 1. Teachers are obligatorily tasked to look for alternatives to Chalk and Talk method, which vehemently challenged the earlier "set-in stone" procedure for any faculty with a considerable amount of teaching experience. They had to explore new teaching learning methodologies moving away from their comfort zones. 2. Their class preparation has changed from just subject/topic preparation to preparing PPTs, scouting for relevant Online Videos, Compulsory Assignments, Quiz Questions, etc. This has become the norm in order to assess the attentiveness of the students during online classes. 3. Usage of different ICT tools which was a burden to many faculties before has become a necessity now. They are forced to explore new innovative teaching aids to augment their teaching online. 4. Many introvert students who chose not to interact due to peer pressure during the regular classes, now learn more freely and ask questions discretely rather than expose their inhibitions in front of their peers. 5. The overall student interaction has increased. The extra care and mentoring has given rise to a stronger teacher-student bonding, which can be tapped to bring about better learnings. 6. The online assessments using proctoring for non-open-book tests was a relief to many faculties. The first test was conducted with MCQ model, which greatly relieved the faculty of the laborious task of evaluation. The amount of time otherwise spent on evaluation was spent usefully to prepare a challenging and unique set of questions. This greatly improved the Faculty Engagement with respect to innovative framing of questions. To be continued.

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First of all, I would like to put up that Coronavirus pandemic has significantly disrupted almost all the sectors in the Indian Economy, the education sector being no exception to this list. As far as this sector is concerned the impact has been bi pronged firstly the economic impact on this sector and secondly the academic impact. The latter being the most debated on at this point of time amongst the educators and the learners.

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This could be an opportune time to grasp the potential of online learning. Remote learning seems a viable solution to students during now as they supply convenient, on -the- go and affordable access to lessons. E-learning also comes as a remarkable and interactive alternative as compared to classroom teaching. Digital education appears to be a viable solution to fill within the void for classroom education for a time span of three to four months while minimizing the chances of any infection to students until classes resume. More importantly, it is also brought the problem of digital education to the centre stage. Going forward, digital education is maybe visiting be integrated into mainstream education. Those institutions with robust online learning programs particularly if they're cheaper than a standard programme will stand to realize ground. This will enable inclusive education by facilitating learning across diverse geographies in India. Moreover, it will provide an opportunity for educators to come back keep a copy with customized learning solutions for every student. Additionally, smaller screens and enhanced focus of ed-tech companies on vernacular modules are the shot within the arm for digital education. The ed-tech market is predicted to grow manifold within the following few years at the rear of assorted policy initiatives.

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Covid -19 has impacted all the sectors adversely and the education sector is not an exception. It has definitely made us more creative and tech-aware. The only way institutes have been able to facilitate the continuity of education is through virtual learning and we at The NorthCap University have been able to come out unscathed during this crisis as most of our processes were already ICT enabled and we had incorporated online teaching in our curriculum through MOOC courses. Being a tech-aware institute the companies are approaching for internships and placements. This virtual learning has further brought new challenges for teachers and shifted their focus to devise innovative practices which has helped develop skills and competencies such as critical thinking in students. The courses like problem solving and design thinking makes students think out of the box and adapt themselves to situations like we are in today. Another positive impact that I can SEE is that students have developed habit of self-learning which has resulted in successful conduct of flipped classrooms in the universities which had incorporated it in their curriculum. The key to success in these tough times is to equip with the latest technology. Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain by Vivian Greene.

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Farsighted universities with visionary leadership for example IITs, NITs, BITS Pilani, The NorthCap University Gurugram are going for online learning and operational efficiency to tide over the current crisis. Nevertheless, internet penetration, affordability and quality of connectivity remains a major challenge. These days, not only the dissemination of content but, the assessment of students is done through technology. There are Enterprise systems to manage admissions and academic administrations through ERP, SAP, CRMs, etc. Government institutions such as Consortium of Educational Communication, National Institute of Open School and distance learning universities such as IGNOU are also promoting online learning including MOOCS and Swayam digital and audio-visual platforms. Teachers are finding AI driven Chatbots very useful at different stages to enhance the student experience. Social media platforms such as Instagram and WhatsApp are also being put into use extensively for more informal and interactive learning. Many students are also increasingly using podcasts and YouTube for learning. Therefore, in a way even before this Covid Pandemic started, this farsightedness was there and we were preparing ourselves for it and that is helping us now.

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Being a part of the e-learning platform, I can say that this will have a great impact on the education sector which will change the mindset of people. Classroom learning will gradually move to e-learning platforms wherein you will be able to study more and will be able to enroll yourself in a variety of programs. Also while using online studies education tends to be far easier then classrooms, which encourages peer learning. Further, this digital revolution has helped us in remarkable changes in how the content is accessed, consumed, discussed, and shared. lectures which we attend in institutes can be consumed many times in an online version of studies. Lastly, it will surely have a less adverse impact on our Environment as these studies are paperless. Hence, COVID Pandemic will teach us a new way of studies and it will surely have a POSITIVE impact rather than negative in the long run. Happy Learning!!

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Colleges have somehow accepted the change very quickly, for example the School of Law at BML Munjal University have started out with their online teaching and online examinations.

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Nature abhors a change a vacuum. This problem is one of the worst which mankind has seen, however it will SEE a reversal of roles. Clerical jobs will vanish, jobs as such shall sink and all will be technology based. This is perhaps the greatest event after the Industrial revolution. This is the beginning of Industry 4.0.

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It is in times of crisis that the mankind has figured out ways to survive and evolve. The COVID-19 crisis is no different when it comes to the challenges each one of us are facing and how we have learnt to overcome these challenges. Any crisis is an unfortunate event, but what comes later is definitely the positives of how we tied over and build the courage to try newer things. I am sure the COVID-19 crisis has brought along a completely new perspective of leveraging the present day digital platforms that has helped us stay connected while we managed to stay distant. In my opinion, the positive outcomes of this crisis will be much lasting as the changes we see today will turn out to be the new normal. Talking about the classroom teaching-learning, integration of technology into education has been very timely as almost all the schools and colleges were able to switch to the digital platforms of Google Hangouts and Zoom instantly. This sudden shift of teaching-learning style from classroom set up to a virtual class has put a lot of pressure on the teachers, students and parents all together. Virtual classes come with greater advantages of minimal effort and higher output provided the students are more self-driven and self-motivated to learn, teachers have a structured method of monitoring the learning sessions and tracking the individual learning of students, and parents can constantly look after and protect their children in such times of crisis while the child does not lose the learning opportunity. The flip side of this is: - Teachers cannot directly exert or impact the learning initiative of the students. - Every student might not have the affordability of accessing these technology/devices to learn online. - It builds additional financial pressure on parents to provide for such technology support for their kids. - If not monitored properly, children might misuse the access that is given to them using computer and internet. Coming to internships, the crisis has forced working professional to adopt Work From Home approach as a necessity than a privilege. Likewise, many companies have offered the college students pursuing their internship to start their internship by working from home. Institutions now SEE a possibility of executing these activities like internships, placements, examinations and even admissions with the help of digital platforms seamlessly, provided there is a good IT infrastructure. The new future of academic institutions - get Tech-savvy

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School closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have shed a light-weight on numerous issues affecting access to education, likewise as broader socio-economic issues. In response to high school closures caused by COVID-19, the utilization of distance learning programmes and open educational applications and platforms that schools and teachers are using to achieve learners remotely and limit the disruption of education. School closures puts a strain on parents and guardians to supply childcare and manage distance learning while children are out of college. School closures negatively impact student learning outcomes. Schooling provides essential learning and when schools close, children and youth are deprived opportunities for growth and development. In response to the Covid-19 scare, many faculty members have moved online and oldsters seem to possess assumed the role of teachers and are fast becoming savvy with resources created for home-scholars to cause minimal disruption to their children education. The major education problems that students and educators currently face because of the Covid-19 pandemic they caught within the cross-wire and become one year aloof from school or college-leaving exams. Education has also become disrupted.

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This pandemic situation has posed difficult times on every front. Education system has been badly hit. As we have seen many negative impacts because of pandemic and lock down situation. 1. One of the positive impact I can SEE from this is the learning on - Tackling such pandemic situation. To be sure that this kind of situation do not replicate in future, younger ones can be made aware of such pandemic. This can be included in Disaster Management course. We all know that beforehand preparation for such sudden crisis will be helpful for human race and nation's economy front as well. Also, young ones spread the learning to families so this is a good option to look for in my view. 2. Another important point is providing education to the lower end of the society. We have seen many migrant workers moving from one state to another with their families. So, regarding education for children's from this section to be taken care. As this section is still devoid of the latest technology. So, providing suitable tools to continue education on virtual classrooms/ distance learning programs will be very helpful. These are the 2 points in my view can be looked upon in a positive way. Thank You.

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