Is Online Education Learning in Pakistan Effective?

Ibn-Amir

As Covid-19 Pandemic impacts life, online education learning has become part of our life in Pakistan.

Online education learning in Pakistan has several challenges as its effectiveness is still questionable when we compare online education versus traditional education. Is online education the future of schools? This is another question that needs an answer.

After observing the severely devastating impacts of Covid-19, this pandemic has now turned out to be a part and parcel of life.

In an interview with The News, Chairman of the Department of Sport Sciences & Physical Education at the University of the Punjab Dr. Zafar Iqbal Butt stated that different types of Covid vaccines are being used in various countries to stem the ongoing destructive effects of this deadly virus, but despite their best efforts, several governments, particularly in third-world countries, have so far failed to thwart the devastating multiple losses of coronavirus.

He stated that the education sector in Pakistan was one of the worst-hit by the coronavirus outbreak. Butt said that education authorities switched to online education learning and began using online classrooms to educate students.

But after discovering several defects in this system, they concluded that online education could not be an effective and viable alternative to the face-to-face class system.

Online education learning is riddled with flaws. One of the biggest disadvantages of this system is the majority of students’ lack of seriousness. It’s also true that the majority of students aren’t used to this type of online education learning.

There are several challenges in education as pupils start to cheat in online tests or exams, which is another major disadvantage of this system. The government needs to take measures for the effectiveness of online education.

Since the beginning of the online education system in Pakistan, it has taken some time to get good outcomes.

Challenges

The government should take different measures to address the challenges in online education amid Covid-19 to achieve satisfactory academic results.

It is a big challenge for the government to maintain the country’s education system at a satisfactory level by following online education in the current circumstances.

The government should formulate an appropriate education strategy, with the primary goal of implementing a standard online education system in Pakistan.

Teachers, students, and other stakeholders must have clear guidelines and expectations under the new education policy to achieve education standards.

Is online education the future of Pakistan?

Is online education the future of Pakistan? We need to discuss it in detail. The federal government should consult with all stakeholders, including the HEC, college, and school education authorities. In this regard, industrialized countries that already have a high-quality online education system should provide some direction and recommendations on how to get the most out of online education learning for its effectiveness.

The government should follow some measures to include online education in the national educational curriculum of all schools for the training of the teachers. This training module must contain clear norms and regulations, as well as an emphasis on ethics. This training module’s only objective should be to teach and link the student community to particular values while getting education via an online system.”

It is critical for online education in Pakistan to have institutional regulations and frameworks for course design, minimum teaching requirements, access to technology, and student assessments. Most of the faculty members claim that their universities did not previously allow remote course teaching.

As a result, many universities lack rules and support mechanisms for online education learning and examinations that reflect best practices. It is difficult to assure clear and standardized online instruction in the absence of such mechanisms.

Access to and expertise with technology is essential for establishing any form of remote education. The most popular platforms are Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Classrooms for online education learning.

Few colleges rely on free versions of these platforms, which limit session schedules and possibilities for a controlled online learning environment.

Many teachers find it difficult to transition to using technology in the classroom, especially those who have never used technology in the classroom previously. The faculty members and students lack awareness.

In such a scenario, online education learning may become part of the education system in Pakistan. The country has already universities like Allama Iqbal Open University and Virtual University that are already sources of online education learning. Therefore, the government can take the best measures to improve this system in the future.