18
REMOTE LEARNING IN THE CONTEXT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION: CHALLENGES ANDOPPORTUNITIESManoj Kumar Dash
Regional Director, IGNOU Regional Evaluation Center, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Email: drdash@ignou.ac.in

How to cite this paper:
Dash, Manoj Kumar (2021)
Remote Learning in The
Context
ofSchool
Education: Challenges andOpportunities, Journal of
Global Resources, Vol. 07
(02)
DOI:
10.46587/JGR.2021.v07i02.018

Received: 18 April 2021
Reviewed: 11 May 2021
Revised: 05 June 2021
Final Accepted: 16 June 2021

Freely available Online

www.isdesr.org

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic brought a revolution inteaching learning process at all levels of education. School
education is not an exception to it. Its impact found all
around in varieties of ways. Educational institutions,teachers, teacher educators responded to this situation
actively which ultimately forced the students and parents
make a transition from conventional mode of classroom
teaching learning process to online mode of remoteteaching-learning process. A virtual learning environment iscreated for the students to manage the situation, as there
were no other options available. The present piece of work
is an attempt to assess the situation of online education(teaching and learning practices at a distance) at schoollevel in Odisha. The findings of the study reflect acomprehensive view of various stakeholders (teachers,
students and parents) associated with education of children
at school levels and the need for an effective and efficientpedagogy for online education. It also established the fact
to strengthen the resources required for making the online
teaching learning process effective from the point of view ofall stakeholders. The findings of the study also revealed
how and why integration of technology (blending) isessential for capacity building of teachers and to support
teaching-learning in the context of school education in
Odisha. Also, the implications of this study are of very
important for designing, development and implementationof online education for quality improvement in school
education sustainably.
Keywords: Online Education, Integration of Technology,
Teaching-Learning Process

Journal of Global Resources, July 2021, Volume 07 (02) Manoj Kumar Dash Page 175 | 15

Introduction
With the spread of corona virus schools, colleges, universities all around the globe areclosed. Millions of students are locked in homes. There are no other options other than
online virtual mode including schools in our country as well. Now everybody is looking for
creating a network of online resources and infrastructure. Every school is working with their
management, head teacher, teachers and parents to interact with their children. The
question before the teaching community was “how to continue teaching-learning process at a
distance? Quality instruction (teaching-learning) is very important for overall cognitive andaffective development of students. The need of the hour is to have a complete andcomprehensive digital infrastructure to ensure effective learning students at a distance in thecontext of school education. With closure of schools across the country institutions andindividuals are exploring alternative possible ways to provide education to students using
ICTs such as Internet, TV, and radio. However, access to ICTs technologies is limited and a
distant dream for many in our county especially among poor households, rural & remoteplaces. All educational institutions and individuals are making experiments with various elearning tools and platforms to deliver content online effectively. Importance is on active
learning approaches with appropriate instructional design to deliver the content online. Manyof the institutions are now able to manage to certain extent to provide quality inputs online to
our students and many are also still finding a way to make use of the platform effectively.
India, with more than 260 million students each year is the largest in the world in the school
system. It’s a new experience for the teachers to teach at a distance, understand theconcept of remote teaching-learning, communicate with students in real-time, make use of avariety of e-resources, assign them to individual and/or facilitate collaborative work, assesslearners' understanding, making formative and summative assessments, provide feedback toindividual students for further improvement etc. The present study comprehensively covers
all aspects to understand the whole and suggest a road map to make this initiative a greatmodel of sustainable development in teaching learning process. COVID-19 has shown ahuge gap in digital divide among our students. In order to learn online via these Platforms, astudent would need to have access to the platform and guidance from parents. In terms ofaccess, the prerequisite to learn via the online platform would be to have internet and a
device such as computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. In urban areas, there are complaints
that children have to share devices and they could not fully utilize the lessons online due toslow internet connections or lack of devices. However, in rural and remote areas such as theOrange Asal villages in Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak, the coverage of the internet islimited. Some villages do not even have access to electricity, or it is very limited for nighttime usage. In order to help and provide guidance to the children, parents would need to be
educated. One of the unintended consequences is the mental well-being of children during
this crisis. As highlighted by Winthrop, there is a need to support children to ensure theirwell-being and reduce anxiety during a restless physically and emotionally. Therefore, it isimportant to ensure that there are strategies to help them cope with this “new normal” so thatthey could express their feelings on this new experience COVID-19 has shown a huge gap indigital divide among our students. In order to learn online via these platforms, a student
would need to have access to the platform and guidance from parents.
About the Study
The whole system of education at all levels from school to university has been collapsed due
to COVID-19 pandemic. It effects adversely to nearly 320 million students in India. They havetransitioned to e-learning. There is a huge gap in digital divide among the students andparents. With huge regional, local and household disparities in access technology andinternet, this transition has resurfaced long-standing issues of inequality that need to be
Journal of Global Resources, July 2021, Volume 07 (02) Manoj Kumar Dash Page 176 | 15

addressed first to make the digitalization fruitful for all. Access to the online platform andappropriate guidance from parents to make use of the digital platform is very important for
students to learn online. The present study is an attempt to assess the situation in providing
education to school children in Odisha during pandemic. It would help us in decision-making
to strengthen the online platform to provide quality education in one hand and also prepare aroad map for effective and efficient implementation of New Education Policy 2020 with
optimum utilization of technology. An attempt has been taken to collect both quantitative andqualitative data in the study, perceptions of various stakeholders (head teacher, teachers,
students, parents and PRI members) on teaching-learning at a distance and the issues &concerns of field functionaries in effective use of the technology, in the context of delivery ofcourse content. It’s essential to have a holistic overview of online teaching-learning activities
during the lockdown for school children and establish a linkage between change in policy,
administration and implementation to strengthen the ground with basic infrastructure,planning training, orientation and capacity building activities for teachers in the new paradigmof technology mediated world. Assessment and evaluation of ground realities is important forproviding basic inputs to policy makers and educational administrators to have a sustainablesystem of technology mediated platform for facilitating teaching-learning at a distance, in theschool education system of our country.
Review of Related Literature
Sudden imposition of lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic and rapid transition of the wholeteaching learning process from face-to-face regular classroom process to online remotelearning process made us to face number of challenges, issues and constraints in real life
situation. At the same time, it is (lockdown during COVID-19 pandemic all around)considered being full of opportunities in terms of wise use of ICTs in teaching learning
process under the domain of online education. Issues like ‘emergency remote teaching’(Bozkurt and Sharma 2020) or 'emergency eLearning’ (Murphy 2020) and difficulties
associated with poor online teaching infrastructure, lack of exposure and experience ofteachers, information gap and the complex environment at home (Zhang et al. 2020) aresome of the common issues before all stakeholders. At the same time, lack of mentoring andsupport (Judd et al. 2020) and issues pertaining to teachers’ competencies in the use ofdigital instructional formats (Huber and Helm 2020) have also been identified. In the context
of teacher education, how institutions and various stakeholders adapted to the new situation
created by COVID-19 pandemic (Bao 2020; Flores and Gago 2020; Quezada, et al. 2020;
Zhang et al. 2020) as well as training strategies and experiences of innovation (Ferdig et al.
2020) have been reported. For meaningful and productive online education, it is important tolearn more about its potential and use, how the present context has forced all institutions tomove to an online mode may provide a comprehensive understanding of adopted practices.
It is necessary to ensure that these practices are effective and useful. This is, therefore, acrucial to study the present practices to have a road map with plan of action for future. The
major emphasis was on online environments that enable teachers to focus on teaching andinteract with students to provide them a variety of learning experiences in ONLINE mode.
Therefore, issues of agency, responsibility, flexibility and choice are key elements as are‘careful planning, designing and implementation to create an effective learning ecology’(Bozkurt and Sharma 2020). As such, teaching and learning online entails a specific process
which is visible in the roles, competencies and professional development approaches (NíShé et al. 2019) as well as in the curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and the nature ofinteraction among participants. It is, therefore, important to highlight how online education(technology mediated teaching-learning process) designed, developed and implemented for
Journal of Global Resources, July 2021, Volume 07 (02) Manoj Kumar Dash Page 177 | 15

children at school level and to explore its implications, particularly in the context of rural andremote areas of Odisha to have sustainable quality school education system for all.
Rational of the Study
With imposition of lockdown nationally, all educational institutions in general and schools inparticular are forced to make a choice of online mode for providing educational opportunities
to students at their door steps. Though it was a burden on all stakeholders, but there were noother options before them. However, gradually teachers, students and parents used to adapt
to these practices as a means of regular and routine system of education, in spite of all
differences, issues and concerns of all kind. As it was not as an option for them, rather acompulsion and only option. Therefore, it was, necessary to ensure how feasible andeffective these measures and practices are for the students? What extend the students
benefit out of these practices? What comes in the way of their effective implementation? At
the same time, it was felt essential to identify the issues and difficulties before various
stakeholders (teachers, students and parents) in the whole process. This is; therefore, a
study has been undertaken in the context of Odisha to obtain the ground realities to further
strengthen future practices. The present study is an attempt finds the online strategies andinterventions that works and does not work in various types of Odisha. At the same time tounderstand the characteristics, the processes, the outcomes and the implications of online
interventions for making the teaching learning process qualitative meaningful. Thus, thestudy would provide how online education occurred in the context of school education in ruraland remote areas of Odisha and how to make it more effective and efficient for the futurewith blended approach as a means of sustainable quality enhancement initiative in the state.
Research Questions
The findings of the study would answer to the following research questions:
1. In view of COVID-19 pandemic, what is the status of implementation of online mode ofeducation for school children in Odisha?
2. What are the perceptions of various stakeholders (teachers, students and parents)
associated with the transition of education from face-to-face classroom practices toonline remote mode of teaching learning process at school level in Odisha?
3. What are the fundamental issues and challenges faced by the stakeholders in adapting tothe online education during COVID-19 pandemic?
Objectives
The following objectives are set forth in the present study:
1. To find the overall status of online mode of teaching-learning adopted during COVID-19
pandemic in various schools.
2. To study the perceptions of various stakeholders (teachers, parents and students) on
online education during COVID-19 pandemic.
3. To identify the issues and challenges faced by the stakeholders in adapting to theonline education during COVID-19 pandemic.
Methodology of the Study
Method: Descriptive survey method was used in the present study. Descriptive research isused to describe characteristics of a population (stakeholders)/phenomenon being studied. It
is meant to addresses the "what" question not answer questions about how/when/why thecharacteristics occurred. This method of study aims accurately and systematically todescribe a population, situation or phenomenon and can use a wide variety of researchmethods to investigate one or more variables
Sample: The study was conducted in three rural districts such as Koraput, Kalahandi and
Kondhamal and three coastal districts such as Ganjam, Khorda and Cuttack of Odisha. Fromeach district 100 students (50 from secondary level, 30 from upper primary level and 20 from
Journal of Global Resources, July 2021, Volume 07 (02) Manoj Kumar Dash Page 178 | 15

primary level), 50 parents (25 parents of the students’ secondary level, 15 from upperprimary and 10 primary), 50 teachers (25 teachers of secondary level, 15 from upper primaryand 10 from primary level), and 20 head teachers (10 from secondary schools, 5 from upperprimary and 5 from primary level) identified randomly for the present study. Accordingly, 600
students (300 from secondary level, 180 from upper primary level and 120 from primarylevel), 300 parents (150 parents of the students’ secondary level, 90 from upper primary and
60 primary), 50 teachers (150 teachers of secondary level, 90 from upper primary and 60
from primary level), 120 head teachers (60 from secondary schools, 30 from upper primaryand 30 from primary level) and identified randomly for the present study from six districts ofOdisha.
Sampling Strategy: Multistage stratified random sampling technique was adopted forselection of sample of the stud. Multistage sampling divides large populations into stages tomake the sampling process more practical. A combination of stratified sampling or cluster
sampling and simple random sampling is usually used for the convenience of the study.
Tools & Techniques: Separate Questionnaire (Google Forms) for each stakeholder(Student, Teachers, Head Teachers, Parents and PRI Members) was prepared for collectionof relevant information. Also, telephonic interviews were conducted with 360 stakeholders(60 from each district@20students, 10 teachers, 10 Head teachers, 10 parents and 10 PRI
members) on various aspects of teaching learning process, issues, and concerns to get their
feedback. A focus group discussion was made through virtual mode with each kindstakeholder separately to have a direct interaction with the stakeholders to assess thesituation with more clarity and with better understanding.
Statistical Technique: Mean and percentage were used to have an analysis of the wholesituation as per the objectives pertaining to various aspects of technology mediatedinterventions made during the critical situation of COVID-19 all around.
Analysis and Interpretation
A comprehensive analysis helps to understand the data by describing general trends in thedata and pointing out differences and similarities among data points. Interpretation is ameans to relate data to the objectives of the study. Analysis and interpretation address what
do the data say about your sample of the study? It’s an attempt to address the researchquestions comprehensively. In the present study the analysis and interpretation have been
made in three different heads in view of types of stakeholders associated with the study.
A. Perspectives of Head Teachers and Teachers of Various Schoolsi) Management of available resources and monitoring: With the lockdown and abrupt
closing of schools, colleges, universities and all other educational institutions there was afeeling of fear and uncertainty among all stakeholders at all levels about the education of
their words. It was a great challenge for educational administrators, policy makers and allother stakeholders associated with education of children at different levels. There was noplanning, no preparation, no resources, no training and no movement all around. At the sametime there was no other alternative, other than to switch over to virtual (online) mode fromface-to-face classroom situation. About 43.6 percent head teachers of various schools
viewed that they switched to virtual mode to continue their teaching-learning process andabout 18.2 percent viewed that they made some arrangement to provide intervention to
students of selected classes only. Whereas 38.2 percent head teachers viewed that no such
shift to online mode has been made, often inputs are provided to students through telephonicconversation and one to one interaction through home-based care to some extent. With the
Journal of Global Resources, July 2021, Volume 07 (02) Manoj Kumar Dash Page 179 | 15

beginning of lockdown (third week of March 2020) till one month (about the end of April2020), around 97.2 percent of head teachers (out of the whole who could switch to onlinemode) did not provide services of any kind due to unavailability of resources, lack of proper
directions, guidelines from their department and lack of knowledge and understanding about
the new mode (online) of education. Privately managed school, their administration, theirhead teachers (principals) and teachers were found to be at one step ahead in this aspect,pertaining to mutual sharing of information and mutual learning about the ways and means
teaching/learning etc.
School fee was not an area of concerns for the parents of children studying in Govt.
Schools. However, it’s a big concern for the parents of children of private schools. In one way
there is closure of schools, no classless, no activities & other interventions, no plan/schedule
for the alternative mode. On the other side there are huge monthly fees. Also, some of theprivate schools increased their fee in the new session. The time is challenging for the school
administration to plan, generate resources and implement, for the teachers to acquire newskills of teaching learning to reach to their children. The major issue in private schools isproviding salary to school staff. About 89.7 percent head teachers expressed that it’s difficult
to manage the salary of school staff, as they are all used to meet out of the school fee only.
Very few parents (less than 30 percent) made their payment towards the school fee. Thereis no other source of income and grants for the private schools to manage their expenses. It
becomes increasingly difficult to meet the recurring expenses. However, they are all trying
and taking steps to make some arrangements of resources, providing some sort of training totraining to teachers and gradually managing the system for online classless with structured
schedule for each class. However, the situations in the Government schools are quite
different in real sense. There is hardly any means of synchronous online process/mode to
deal with the children. There are many other conditions and factors which are in the way ofplanning, designing and implementation of online sessions in the context of Got schools as
coming out during telephonic discussion and focus group interaction with various
stakeholders. Some of the issues and concerns are genuine such as geographicalconditions, financial conditions of parents, unavailability of resources at the schools etc,
Besides, decision making at multiple levels, competencies of stakeholders, interest,
motivation and enthusiasms etc also a major hurdle in the way of implementation and taking
initiative with a new thought and new level.
About 53.8 percent head teachers of made provisions of technology mediatedcommunication (discussion and interaction) with their teachers during the lockdown period. Incase of private school, it was 74.6 percent and in case of Govt. School it was only 33
percent. This shows the extent of communication gap between the head teachers andteachers during the course of lockdown situation. Guidance and counseling to students andtheir parents on mental health and hygiene is considered to be very important and key factor
to ensure sound mental health as the system, structure and interventions are all come to an
end abruptly. There is no other means of guidance and services for the parents and theirword about their education and to make them understand about their course of action. Only 7
percent head teachers viewed that they made some provision to communicate with theirparents and students to provide feedback and guidance on sound mental health andhygiene. These aspects should have been given more emphasis and considered to be
prerequisite for all school children, which was found almost neglected. The situation is very
poor almost NIL so far as students and parents of Govt. schools are concerned. There are no
specific guidelines and COVID-19 protocol for schools to prevent the spread of this novel
corona virus. Only 27.4 percent head teachers pointed that they are aware of the general
Journal of Global Resources, July 2021, Volume 07 (02) Manoj Kumar Dash Page 180 | 15

guidelines & protocol released from Got of India and Got of Odisha to prevent the COVID-19.
They are of the opinion that government should release specific guidelines for the schools
indicating roles responsibilities and preventive measures to be taken at all level by all
stakeholders. At the same time about 69.7 percent of head teachers viewed that network
connectivity is a big issue in implementation of online sessions to provide academic support
services to learners. Even teachers and parents are ready to spend on devices. However,the ultimate utility and its effectiveness depend on the connectivity. Therefore, the role ofGovt. is very important inuring speed of connectivity at all locations. More than 86.8 percent
of students and parents of rural and remote districts (particularly in Koraput, Kalahandi and
Kondhamal districts) did not have smart phone to access the online sessions. This is reality
and another major hurdle in implementation of online sessions in the context of Odisha.
Implementation of Online education requires specific set of skills and competencies indesigning, development and implementation of course content. Teachers are to be trainedand exposed in these areas. Management of face-to-face classroom is different and online
classroom is different. This is clearly pointed by more than 91.3 percent of head teachers.
They all require a different set of skills, training and orientation for making their classes
effective and more efficient. They all agreed that COVID-19 taught them to make use oftechnology for the cause of teaching learning process and making their teaching learning
more qualitative. The facilitates and exposure being provided to teachers in private schools
by their management and the initiatives initiated for students of private schools should also
be made at Govt. schools to address to the issues of inequality in school education.
ii) Understanding obstructions, feasibility and comfort in imparting education online:
Schools, colleges, universities and many other forms of educational institutions have faced
numerous challenges during this critical situation of pandemic all around. More than 67
percent teachers of private school manage the situation gradually with more ease ofadaptation to new form of teaching learning process with use of technology without evenformal training and orientation. However, the situation in Government schools is very poor.
Only 8 percent of the teachers viewed that they could manage the new form of teachinglearning process using technology mediated interventions. The major causes as cited were
non availability of devices (appropriate resources) and internet connection, lack ofinstitutional approach and lack of motivation from the higher authorities. It is also found that
more than 21.4 percent of teachers from Got schools did not give any response to this item.
It’s a fact that more than 90 percenter teachers from Govt. School have been struggling tocope up with the situation. Similar situation is found among teachers of private schools inrural/remote areas than that of the teachers from cities/towns. Training, orientation andcapacity building is very important for effective and efficient use of technology in teachinglearning process. It’s found that very few teachers explore their own ways and means tolearn and equip themselves to acquire the knowledge and skills in using technology during
the COVID-19 pandemic. However, at some of the places they tried to manage the situation
using some of the interventions through asynchronous mode without even direct interaction
with students for months.
Content development (e-content) is very important for effective and efficient use oftechnology mediated interventions. It’s an art to design and develop e-content and required
specialized skills to develop through training and orientation. Such facilities and provisions
are hardly made for school teachers at various levels. About 89 percent teachers from Govt.
schools and 67.5 percent teachers from private schools viewed that its very time consuming
and they required training and orientation to handle it. Very few teachers from private schools
Journal of Global Resources, July 2021, Volume 07 (02) Manoj Kumar Dash Page 181 | 15

(about 9.82 percent) and government schools (7.1 percent) expressed their willingness to get
involve in e-content development and their implementation through online classes and othermeans of technology mediated interventions. Institutional initiatives and organized efforts
were not found in design and development of e-content and its implementation. Which isfound to be a serious issue & concern as far as quality of online teaching learning process isconcerned. As success of online teaching and technology mediated teaching learning
depends upon the success of team not on an individual. These aspects should be explained
to teachers and the school administrators should internalize it to make use of it in the present
context of teaching learning process. Availability of appropriate resources (devices) andsound internet connectivity is the central need for the success of online/technology mediatedteaching learning process. At many of the Govt. schools (more than 77.4 percent) they are
not available. However, in many of the private schools (more than 76.9 percent), thoughthese resources are available, however, they are yet to be utilized optimally for teachinglearning process. This shows that, in-service teacher education programmes need to beredesigned in the context of teaching learning through technology mediated interventions.
This seems to be the new norms of teacher education with a paradigm shift in teachinglearning process. Even, there should be programmes for trainers, master trainers andteacher educators to train them and to orient them in the context of online T-L process. The
basics of four quadrant approach of online teaching learning process should be a part ofteacher education programme (in service and pre service) at all levels.
Most of the teachers from Govt. schools (71.3 percent) and Private schools (94.3
percent) have smart phone with them for their day-to-day use. However, they had neverutilized the smart phone for teaching learning process. Use of smart phone for online classes
and for other means of teaching learning process is a new experience for all the teachers
and a big surprised to them (teachers, head teachers and administrators as well) at the
beginning, because, the situation of online classes were never thought of and nevervisualized as a normal routine practice for education of children at school level. Success of a
new initiative depends on effective and efficient monitoring mechanism. Various
aspects/dimensions of online education should also be thoroughly examined and monitored,
as it is a new learning experience for all stakeholders. Participation of learners and theirinteraction is most important aspect of online teaching learning process. It was found that
more than 90 percent students from private schools participated in online sessions. However,in case of Govt. schools it was found to less than 34 percent. This shows the level of
preparedness of parents and teachers of Govt. schools for online education. This gap needs
to be addressed to minimize the learning gap among the children. Non availability ofresources is considered to the biggest hurdle for the students and parents of government
schools. At the same time more than 42 percent of the parents expressed that there is lack oforganizational planning and execution for development of awareness among the children andparents. This need to be addressed so as to have a workable plan of action keeping in viewof issues, problem of the students and availability of resources around them. In Govt.
schools, there were no online sessions (at synchronous mode) planned and organized by theteachers for routine teaching learning process. WhatsApp and SMS are the only the meansof communication of teachers (more than 96 percent) with their students However, in case ofprivate schools, WhatsApp and SMS are some the means to supplement the online
sessions/interactions planned through open education resources. In private schools only
21.7 percent parents are concerned for the safety and security related measures as their
Email and mobile number is shared during the course of online sessions. More than 43.3
percent parents are not aware about the issues related to security and safety measures.
About 35 percent parents found to be casual towards these particular areas of safety and
Journal of Global Resources, July 2021, Volume 07 (02) Manoj Kumar Dash Page 182 | 15

security as their priority was education of their children and they found no other alternatives
for them.
B. Perspectives of Students
Students of Govt. schools (more than 86.5 percent) found to be deprived of the facilities of
online education and failed to have direct discussion and interaction with their teachers for along period. Even at many schools this situation still in place since March 2020. It’s a serious
issue for the students who would appear 10th and 12th board examinations in 2021. Though
there are provisions teaching and learning through television, 77.8 percent of the students
viewed that they are not as per their syllabus and text book. Secondly, it requires prebroadcast and post broadcast discussion to help them to understand the concept and clear
their queries. Continuity of the content and subject is very important, which was hardly foundin programmes broadcasted in television and radio etc. as reported by more than 61.4
percent of students. Nearly 30 percent of the students did not give any response on suchitems. Only 11.2 percent students from Govt. schools reported that they watched theprogrammes broadcasted through television. Use of online interventions for delivery ofcourse content is a new experience for all stakeholders (teachers, students as well as
parents) at school level in general. About 69.2 percent of students of private schools and88.3 percent from Govt. schools viewed that they prefer offline (face to face) class room
process for teaching learning activities. Very few students (12.8 percent from private schools
and 3.6 percent from Govt. schools) expressed their satisfaction on online system of
education and stated that in view of the current situation they would prefer the online
sessions as it gives variety of experiences. At the same time a group of students of about 18
percent from private schools and 8.1 percent from Govt. schools preferred integration of bothonline and offline mode for learning (blended mode). This shows that preferred mode oflearning for the students was found to be face to face regular classroom situation. It may be
due to lack of understanding of the users to use the technology mediated components
effectively and lack of planning for delivery of online content and online resources as ameans of teaching learning process. This shows that all teachers require specialized skillbased training to handle the online platform and the components to meet to the expectationsof the learners and making the whole process more meaningful and productive. About 57.6
percent of students stated that their doubts and queries are taken up and addressed properly
through online mode. At the same time about, 31.4 percent started that it’s difficult to clear
the doubts and queries online because of multiple problems/hindrances (loss of connectivity/
loss of audio/ loss of video etc) during the course of online sessions. There is no appropriate
and systematic strategy/mechanism to raise the query and get their answers. Though there
are various options available, but is not being utilized/ integrated by the teachers to address
to individual queries through online sessions. About 11 percent students started that it’s too
difficult or even impossible to get clarity of the content in terms of clarification of doubts andqueries. This shows that lot of efforts need to be made to equip the teachers to use facilities
available to facilitate and promote one to one discussion and interactions with students
during online sessions. The planning of sessions should be made more comprehensive inview of all components of teaching-learning to promote interaction of students with theteachers. This is important to establish the effectiveness of online sessions by enabling thestudents to develop a feel of classroom like situation.
About 48.3 percent students viewed that they are comfortable in making the basic
necessary arrangements and preparedness for the online sessions. However, a large chunkof students about 50.7 percent viewed that they are in stress in terms of making the basic
necessary arrangements and preparedness for the online sessions due to multiple reasons
Journal of Global Resources, July 2021, Volume 07 (02) Manoj Kumar Dash Page 183 | 15

such as financial problems to arrange the resources, lack of knowledge and expertise to use
the device/system, non availability of onsite support etc. It was found that more than 62.8
percent students from private schools are more concerned for exemption of school fees,
purchase of books, cover up of syllabus etc. However, only 8.9 percent of students from
Govt. Schools are concerned on these areas. Most of the students (about 79.2 percent) ofgovernment schools are more concerned for non availability of resources such asdevices/system, internet connections and their use etc. Very few students from private
schools (about 12.8 percent) are found to be concerned for these aspects. Only 39.7 percent
students from private schools and 14.9 percent from Govt. schools are comfortable with thee-content. Majority of the students from each category of schools (51.4 percent from Govt.
and 77.9 percent from private) stated that they need hard copies for preparation of content
and for other purpose of evaluation.
C. Perspectives of Parents
Parents are important stakeholders in the whole teaching learning process. Particularly,
during the time of pandemic, it’s the parents who started learning first to help their children tolearn out of the online interventions. While making an analysis it was found that parents ofprivate schools are slightly in comfortable side than that of the parents of Govt. schools. It’s
because the initiatives and interventions of online services started early at the private
schools and the Govt. schools started them at a later stage. On the other hand, issues ofparents of both types of schools are found to be different. Parents of private schools arefound to have more options to handle to their issues, queries and difficulties. However, incase of the parents of Govt. schools it very limited, due to lack of initiatives at the schoollevel and inordinate delay in implementation at grass root level. About 89.3 percent patentsof Govt. schools stated that teachers were also found to handicapped as because there wereno clear directions and guidelines for them from the higher authorities. This was not an issue
for the teachers of private schools as started by most of the parents (more than 90 percent)of private schools. About 77 percent of the parents of private schools are comfortable interms of their understanding pertaining to online learning. However, this status is very low(about 21.3 percent) in case of parents of Govt. schools. Here comes the difference inproviding adequate guidance and appropriate support services to their children by theparents for their education during COVID-19 pandemic all around. This is an important
indicator and deciding factor to the extent of support services to children for their study andalso increasing stress level of students.
Parents are of the opinion that students are comfortable and ready to adjust with theonline mode and have an interest and willingness towards the new mode. But the major
problem is providing those adequate resources, guidance and onsite support. It requires
appropriate skills to handle the situation. Some of the problems are local, can be handled
gradually by the parents. However, some of other problems are out of the hand of theparents, such as connectivity issue. About 61.9 percent parents of private schools havethese issues. These issues are equally found with the parents of private schools in rural
areas. So, what is required is development of base to strengthen the foundation withadequate resources and resolving the issues related to internet connectivity. More than halfof the students in private schools are left out due to this particular issues. The issue is more
prominent in rural areas and hilly areas. More than 80 percent parents in rural areas do nothave the resources to avail online sessions. Very few, about 7 percent of parents of Govt.
schools in rural areas have access to mobile device sessions. In case of parents of private
schools in rural areas this situation is slightly better with availability of devices, with about 15
percent of parents. In rural areas about 83.2 percent parents of private schools started that
Journal of Global Resources, July 2021, Volume 07 (02) Manoj Kumar Dash Page 184 | 15

there is financial burden on them to manage the resources for the online mode of education.
In case of parents of private schools, the problem is remaining the same. However, thesituation is slightly better i.e., about 72 percent parents of private school started that it’s anadditional burden for them to manage the resources for online mode of education. In case ofurban areas, it is found that 48.9 parents of private school expressed that there is financial
burden on the family to manage the resources. Only 27.8 percent parents of private schools
in urban areas viewed that financial burden on family lightly increases due to online mode ofeducation. The important aspect that is revealed from the study was that, parents (morethan 64 percent) are agreed and convenience to spend a little out of their routine monthly
family expenses on this (towards resources and internet connection) for the online mode ofeducation. But they expect quality inputs and better academic services of all kind from theschool management and expect involvement and participation of their children during theteaching learning process. About 71.2 percent parent viewed that it was just flow of
information from one side (teachers) to another side (students) with some directions andassignments. Many other components of teaching learning process such as discussion,
involvement, participation, interaction in real time is missing and neglected. It a serious
concern leading to demoralize the students and students feel them isolated in the wholeprocess. This shows the need of training, orientation and capacity building of teachers by theschool administration in handling online resources for education and designing, development
and implementation of e-text effectively and efficiently to make the online education moreparticipatory and interactive.
Overall Analysis
On the basis of the findings of the present study it was found that a very small proportion ofparents, about 23 percent (31 percent parents from private schools and only 15 percent from
Govt. schools) are fully satisfied with the online education provided by the schools for theirchildren. About 47 percent parents (52.1 percent from private schools and 41.9 percent from
Govt. schools) are partially satisfied with the interventions provided by the schools during
COVID-19 pandemic situation. About 19 percent parents (12 percent from private schools
and 26 percent from Govt. schools) are not at all satisfied with the present form of online
interventions. At the same time about 11 percent parents (6 percent from private schools and16 percent from Govt. schools) did not respond to this particular item. From this it isconcluded that a meticulous plan needs to be made to cater to the needs and expectations of
all stakeholders for making the online education and various online interventions moremeaningful and productive for the learners. While interacting with parents it was found thatabout 68.9 percent of parents (51.3 from private schools and 86.5 percent from Govt.
schools) did not have any idea and clarity of blended approach and about 21.2 percent
teachers did not respond to this aspect. This shows the level of knowledge andunderstanding among various stakeholders who are responsible and accountable for
implementation of online interventions for learners at different levels in school education
system.
Ministry of Education, Govt. of India took all initiatives to provide online services tostudents to enable them to continue their learning during the lockdown period. There arevarious learning platforms like SWAYAM, Diksha, SWAYAM Prabha, e-pathasala, NROER(National Repository of Open Educational Resources) etc designed and developed under
GOI. Many of these platforms are run by the National Council of Education Research andTraining (NCERT), NIOS, IGNOU and NITTT etc. and many other autonomous organizationsof the Ministry of Education. In the present study an attempt was taken to access the level ofawareness of various stakeholders about the initiatives of Govt. of India for facilitating online
Journal of Global Resources, July 2021, Volume 07 (02) Manoj Kumar Dash Page 185 | 15

education for technology mediated quality interventions at school levels. It was found that
only 41.3 percent (54.3 percent from private schools and 28.3 percent from Govt. schools) of
headmasters of various schools are aware about SWAYAM portal of Govt. of India.
SWAYAM Prabha channels are important in terms of reaching at the door steps of student’s
through DTH channels. About 38 percent of parents (51.6 percent from private schools and24.4 percent from Govt. schools are aware about this online initiative of Govt. of India.
Though the content delivered through this channel are very important and useful for the
students, however, it was, found that there is limited awareness among the parents andmany other stakeholders such as teachers and students in rural areas about this initiativeand its use for school children and teachers. DIKSHA portal is an important online platform
for training and orientation to school teachers. About 68.7 percent of the teachers (66.3
percent of teachers from private schools and 71.1 percent from Govt. schools) are aware
about this portal, as this portal is being utilized by state Govt. for online training & orientationof teachers from time to time. However, it is, yet to be utilized optimally in the state forteachers of all schools. Similarly, NISTHA is a capacity building programme for improving
quality of school education through integrated teacher training. The ultimate objective is tocompetency enhancement of teachers and head teachers at elementary school level at state,
district, block and cluster level. The finding of the study revealed that only 33.6 percent
teachers from Govt. schools and 16.4 percent from private schools are aware about thisparticular initiative. At the same time, it was also found that teachers from rural areas (about
76.7 percent) are not aware of it and the matter was never been discussed during thetraining sessions being organized at cluster/block levels. This is truly a great set back to theimportant initiatives of Govt., particularly, the digital initiatives that are meant for grassroots
level functionaries for quality improvement in school education.
Discussions and Conclusion
With sudden lockdown all around in March 2020, due to COVID-19 there were no otheroptions before the educational institutions other than making a shift to remote learning
through online mode from their routine classroom process. This was a great challenge for all
at levels of education as the transition to online mode happened faster and there was no timeto think and understand the dynamics of its utility. However, teachers in higher classes (IX,
X, XI and XII) somehow managed as there was no option for them. But teachers of lower
classes in general and teachers of lower classes of Govt. schools in particular struggled andstarted them at a very late. In private school this transition started at very fast in comparison
to Govt. schools. It’s true that this unexpected transition, from conventional face to facemode to a new online mode has put administrators, policy makers, teachers, students andparents at a great disadvantage and also at a great risk. School education suffered a lot as
most of the schools has not been properly organized. The present paper assessed anddescribed the issues and difficulties in remote learning in the wake of the COVID-19
pandemic. Like many other studies (Bao, 2020; and Henaku, 2020), the present study also
found that poor internet connectivity as one of the main issues in remote learning. It is amajor problem in rural areas of Odisha in terms of availability, speed telecommunication
systems and ICT, not being properly developed (Aboagye eand stability as well. The findingsof the studies (Coleman, 2011; and Henaku, 2020) corroborate the other result of this study
in which inadequate learning resources are serious hurdles for making the online learning
effective and efficient for the students. As a result, student failed to participate, involve andinteract in the process of online teaching learning optimally. It has also come to the noticethat financial burden on parents enhanced. This corresponds to the findings of Matswetu etal. (2013) in which financial problems faced by students in Zimbabwe in a distance learning
set-up. The situation arises due to COVID-19 has made it more difficult for the parents who
Journal of Global Resources, July 2021, Volume 07 (02) Manoj Kumar Dash Page 186 | 15

lost their jobs and are finding difficulty to get a job in hand to support their families on one
hand and meet the expenses for education of their children on the other hand. The situation
is worse for poor families in rural and remote places during the outbreak due to an
unprecedented economic shutdown (Adle, 2020).
Students and parents raised the issues of electric power and its interruptions during
online learning situation. It’s an inevitable problem in virtual classroom set-ups (Castillo,2020). Students located in rural, remote and hilly areas find it not only difficult but also
impossible to stay connected online due to lack electricity and also due to poor internet
connectivity. Issues of design, development and implementation of e-content come next to it,which are also major constraints of learning and issues before the teachers and the headteachers. In the name of online mode of learning, almost all teachers use mere text books as“learning content”, meant for regular classroom situation. This shows lack of understanding,experience and lack of training & exposure of teachers in remote learning (Chen et al., 2020)
situation. Therefore, It’s high time to train, orient the teachers to produce appropriate
supplementary materials for online learning of students (Burgess & Sievertsen, 2020). At thesame time, it has come to the notice that teachers simply assign more and moreassignments/questions to student (in the process of online learning) in each and every
subject. So, it leads to develop more stress and anxiety in students. They find no discussion,
involvement, participation in the process of online mode. Similar findings were obtained in
the study of Sarvestani et al., (2019) where students voiced about the extensive and thelarge number of modules that they need to answer, as a part of online teaching learning
process.
Students are having a hard time coping with online learning situation because of thepoor communication between them. It effects students’ motivation and their interest towards
learning at a distance. Appropriate learning environment is very important for students toensure their active participation in teaching learning process. This is also equally required in
online mode. The sudden shift to online mode has hardly considered this aspect which
ultimately affects the motivation, interest and also the performance of students. It’s also afact that schedule of online learning hardly considers general home responsibilities ofstudents. This may not be an issue in metros and cities. However, this is one of the major
issues in remote and rural areas because children used to engage and participate in routine
household activities. Students’ engagement in household responsibilities negatively affects
their academic achievement (Poncian, 2017; and Amali, Bello & Adeoye, 2018). Students
spend almost the whole day for online classes and answering assignments and activities,
thus giving them less time or no time to engage in physical activities, so experience strains(Sundarasen et al., 2020) of engaging about 6-8 hours/day in online sessions.
On the matter related to selection of subjects covered, almost all schools focusedmerely on core subjects (Science, Mathematics & English) in online mode. Co-scholastic
activities which are very important for all round development and integrated development are
essential for socialization of children are worst effected during COVID-19 with
implementation of online mode of education. It’s found that many teachers (most of theteachers from Govt. schools) are struggling with real-time interaction with students in online
mode. This may be due to lack of exposure and proper training on online interventions. Thisis the learning point for administrators and policy makers to make a shift in teachers training
programme for future. It’s essential to equip the teachers with knowledge and competencies
to make use of online interventions effective and efficient not just an alternative to face-toface mode of teaching learning process but for integration with conventional face to face
Journal of Global Resources, July 2021, Volume 07 (02) Manoj Kumar Dash Page 187 | 15

mode of teaching learning. Majority of the students and parents preferred conventional modeof learning through face-to-face mode over the online mode. Implementation of blended
mode is the need of an hour. So, there should be organization of awareness programmes forparents and workshops for teachers at different levels for effective and efficient use of online
mode of education and help them to appreciate the interventions of online mode.
Assessment is an important aspect of the whole teaching learning process. How best
online tool and techniques of evaluation can be used by the teachers (for formative andsummative evaluation) is an important point. Formative assessments are essential to assess
the effectiveness of our teaching strategies, plan for future teaching-learning activities, tokeep track of individual learner's progress, and to provide students with useful feedback for
improvement. Google Forms can be use for summative assessment as they provide varietyof questions and design concept-appropriate questions. Even teacher can use images,
graphs, audios, and videos from YouTube, and design questions around these media. This
would help teachers to assess and evaluate learners' understanding of students in the waysthat were not possible with conventional mode of assessment and evaluation. Online tools
along with Google's Classroom app could help teachers to streamline and automate much ofadministrative work, so that teachers can concentrate and focus on design, development andimplementation of online tools for their classroom process.
Development of a good online support system with effective network with all
educational institutions for mutual support is essential for quality enhancement andaddressing to the issues of inequality. Teachers should learn to transform the difficulties andchallenges into opportunities for their personal and professional growth. It is essential for
effective and efficient use of online education in the context of our system of education.
There should be a common platform where teachers can discuss and interact to resolve their
queries and address the challenges they face. At this point of time, it’s not important tocomplete the syllabus that had been planned at the beginning of the academic year. It’s
important to learn and comfortable with new tools and methods require for learning at a
distance. Varieties of online activities should be planned during the course of online
deliberations. This is a means to alleviate emotional and mental stress of students andmaintain a positive outlook. Teachers require technical support and assistance to make theirteaching learning process meaningful and productive in the new mode of imparting
education. Success of online education is a team work with equal responsibilities andaccountabilities on all stakeholders such as school management, head teacher, teachers,
students and also parents.
References
1. Adle,C.
(2020).
COVID-19
andthe
Poverty
Pandemic.
Retrievedfromhttps://philippines.oxfam.org/latest/blogs/covid-19-and-poverty-pandemic
2. Amali, I., et.al. (2018). Influence of domestic works on female students’ academic performance inupper-basic schools in Kwara State, Nigeria. Journal of Education in Developing Areas, 26(1),196-202. https://journalsplace.org/index.php/JEDA/article/view/44
3. Bao, W. (2020). COVID‐19 and online teaching in higher education: A case study of Peking
University.
Human
Behavior
andEmerging
Technologies,2(2),113-115.
https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.191
4. Bozkurt, A. and Sharma, R. C. (2020). “Emergency Remote Teaching in a Time of Global Crisis
Due to CoronaVirus Pandemic.” Asian Journal of Distance Education 15 (1): i–vi. Accessed 24
July 2020. http://asianjde.org/ojs/index.php/AsianJDE/article/view/447
5. Burgess, S. and Sievertsen, H. H. (2020). Schools, skills, and learning: The impact of COVID-19
on education. https://voxeu.org/article/impact-covid-19-education
6. Castillo, J. (2020). Distance learning? Don’t Take Power Availability for Granted. Retrieved fromhttps://mb.com.ph/2020/09/25/distance-learning-dont-take-power-availability-for-granted/
Journal of Global Resources, July 2021, Volume 07 (02) Manoj Kumar Dash Page 188 | 15

7. Chen, T. and et. al. (2020). Analysis of user satisfaction with online education platforms in China
duringthe
COVID-19
pandemic.
Healthcare,
8(3),
1-26.
https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8030200
8. Coleman, R. K. N. (2011). Assessing the Adoption of e-Learning in Ghanaian Universities: Case ofsome Ghanaian Universities. Retrieved from http://ltu.divaportal.org/ smash/get/diva2:
1018665/FULLTEXT03.pdf
9. Ferdig, R. E. , et.al. (2020). Teaching, Technology, and Teacher Education during the COVID-19
Pandemic: Stories from the Field . Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education(AACE). Accessed 15 June 2020. https://www.learntechlib.org/p/216903/
10. Flores, M. A. and Gago, M. (2020). “Teacher Education in Times of COVID-19 Pandemic in
Portugal: National, Institutional and Pedagogical Responses.” Journal of Education for Teaching ,Advance online publication. doi:10.1080/02607476.2020.1799709.
11. Henaku, E. A. (2020). COVID-19 online learning experience of college students: The case of
Ghana. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Sciences and Advanced Technology, 1(2), 54-62.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342586709
12. Huber, S. G. and Helm, C. (2020). “COVID-19 and Schooling: Evaluation, Assessment andAccountability in Times of Crises—reacting Quickly to Explore Key Issues for Policy, Practice andResearch with the School Barometer.” Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability 32:
237–270. doi:10.1007/s11092-020-09322-y.
13. Judd, J. and et. al. (2020). “This is Not Teaching”: The Effects of COVID-19 on Teachers .
Accessed 25 July 2020. https://www.socialpublishersfoundation.org/knowledge_base/this-is-notteaching-the-effects-of-covid-19-on-teachers/
14. Matswetu, V. S. and et. al. (2020). Science student teachers’ challenges and coping strategies inan open and distance learning environment in Zimbabwe. Makarere Journal of Higher Education,
4(2), 125-137. https://doi.org/10.4314/majohe.v4i2.1
15. Murphy, M. P. A. (2020). “COVID-19 and Emergency eLearning: Consequences of the
Securitization of Higher Education for Post-pandemic Pedagogy.” Contemporary Security Policy
41 (3): 492–505. doi:10.1080/13523260.2020.1761749.
16. Ní Shé, C. and et. al (2019). “Teaching Online Is Different: Critical Perspectives from the
Literature.” Project Report . Dublin: Dublin City University. doi:10.5281/zenodo.3479402.
17. Poncian, P. (2017). The impact of home environment on students' academic achievement in
Tanzanian secondary schools: A case of Geita Town Council. Retrieved fromhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12661/480
18. Quezada, R. L. and et. al. (2020). “From Bricks and Mortar to Remote Teaching: A Teacher
Education Programme‘s Response to COVID-19.” Journal of Education for Teaching , Advanceonline publication. doi:10.1080/02607476.2020.1801330.
19. Sarvestani, M. S. and et.al. (2019). Students’ experiences of e-Learning challenges: A
phenomenological study. Interdisciplinary Journal of Virtual Learning in Medical Sciences, 10(3),1-10. https://doi.org/10.30476/IJVLMS.2019.45841
20. Sundarasen, S. and et. al. (2020). Psychological impact of COVID-19 and lockdown among
university students in Malaysia: Implications and policy recommendations. International Journal ofEnvironmental Research and Public Health, 17(17), 6206. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176206
21. Zhang, W. et. al. (2020). “Suspending Classes without Stopping Learning: China’s Education
Emergency Management Policy in the COVID-10 Outbreak.” Journal of Risk and Financial
Management 13 (58): 1–6. doi:10.3390/jrfm13030055.

Journal of Global Resources, July 2021, Volume 07 (02) Manoj Kumar Dash Page 189 | 15