Second Wave Covid-19 Pandemic: Opportunities and Challenges in Higher Education

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the education system where all educational institutions from elementary to university level were closed in India and worldwide. However, this pandemic has paved the way for educational institutions to adopt online education. Although university teachers were not ready with a digital platform at the onset of Covid-19, they have embraced digital methods to continue teaching. In this context, this study was conducted to analyze the opportunities and challenges of online education among the higher education teachers who switched to online education during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to analyze the online teaching and learning methods teachers adopt and the challenges they face in higher education while imparting the course online from various disciplines. This study used a survey-based online questionnaire to collect data from 175 higher education teachers. The analysis was carried out using a descriptive statistical method that included simple percentages and means. The study's findings revealed that online teaching and learning have opportunities such as allowing teachers and students to continue their education online using various platforms even during a lockdown, using online interactive education through audio, video and other potential learning platforms. It also revealed the challenges that include technical, academic and financial challenges that influence and affect online teaching during COVID19 lockdown.