Online Education

"Every well educated person is self-educated."

In his famous essay Boi Pora (Reading Books) Pramatha Chowdhury wrote - May be he is justified in his
thinking but is it possible to be educated without the help of others? Probably not and for this reason so many
educational institutions have been established all over the world. Millions of students are studying in these
institutions regularly but deadly corona virus has disrupted everything of normal life including education.
During corona pandemic educational institutions are closed sine die, examinations are uncertain, students and
teachers are sitting idle, government and guardians are concerned about academic future of students. Under
such disaster online education is being considered as the immediate way to adjust the loss already happened.

Online Education System: Roughly speaking, online education is a system of education where students receive
education through internet using their
personal computers. Mainly non-traditional Learners
students follow this electronically supported  Expectation
procedure without coming into direct contact  Readiness
with teachers. It is basically learning from  Technical skill
distance but the idea is nothing new in our  Participation
country. In 1957 the Education Reform
Commission recommended to establish a Institution Support
correspondence school on trial basis for  Professional
students intending to receive education  Instructor
 Student Training
without attending regular classes. Since then
 Technical Support
different distance educational institutions
were established. The Bangladesh Institute of Content Instructions
Distance Education (BIDE) was formed in  Development  Interest
1985. For nontraditional students the  Assignment  Preparation
 Assessment  Time management
Bangladesh Open University (BOU) was
 Feedback  Teaching style
established under an act of parliament in
October 1992 and BIDE was merged with it. During lockdown, like many other countries of the world,
government and some institutions in Bangladesh are trying to apply online education system for regular students
also.

Advantages of online education system:

 Limited resource: A common perception prevails that there are many advantages of online education
primarily as classroom, chair, table, bench, building, supporting staffs are not required for it.
 Proper utilization: Proper utilization of online education may be more effective than classroom teaching.
 Maximum accommodation: Maximum 100 students can be accommodated in a classroom but through
intensive online course 10,000 persons may be covered at a time.
 Minimum cost: It can minimize not only educational expenses but associated costs also.
 No significant area: Students can contact their peers staying within the country or even abroad.
 Global environment: It helps students to prepare academic papers in co-operation with others, makes them
culturally sensitive and capable to understand other environments easily.
 Specialized course: Online education may give students access to specialized courses which may not be
available at a local college or university.
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Challenges of Online education system:
Apparently, these are the prospective sides of online education but our reality is far different due to many
problems.
 Initial necessity: A personal computer or android phone is the initial necessity for online education. It may
be procured even under financial hardship but internet connection is more essential which is not available
everywhere, particularly in rural areas.
 Power supply and uninterrupted internet: Continuous power supply and uninterrupted internet connection
are still uncertain. Professor Zafar Iqbal has written that one of his students had to draw 2.5 kilometers power
line at his own expense but all guardians are not equally solvent and technical problems are not ignorable.
 Internet connection: Students need to be connected through messenger but is it possible for a teacher to
collect messenger ID of 50 or more students. A teacher may conduct class with 50 students staying at
different places but everybody may not have internet connection.
 Academic problems: Apart from these there are academic problems also. Online education may be
applicable to subjects of arts and social science only. For science subjects, medical, engineering and
agriculture it will never be effective because integral parts of these subjects are practical class, laboratory
demonstration and field work which are never available through online.
 Lack of direct interaction: It is beyond question that direct interaction with teachers is essential for proper
understanding. For this reason classes are held on holidays for students of Bangladesh Open University.
 Theoretical and practical examination: Academic attainment of a student can be ascertained through
examination only. What will be the procedure of holding theoretical and practical examination, collecting,
distributing and evaluating answer scripts, scrutinizing, tabulation under online education?
 Aim of education: is not only acquiring a certificate, socialization covers an important part of it. A student
can be socialized mainly through interaction with classmates, teachers, other students, teaching staffs etc.
 Co-curricular activities: Art of speaking, way of presentation, leadership quality, extra and co-curricular
activities, individual shortcomings, broadness of mind are learnt directly from educational institutions. Can
online education provide these?

Way Forward
Keeping up students' motivation to attend the classes overcoming their personal challenges is an
ongoing pursuit for the faculty members.
 Successful identification of the possible shortcomings and the obstructions that the students will potentially
face and provide appropriate solutions for those. For example, instructors have to be innovative in evaluating
the class performances of the students and keeping them engaged during the class through utilizing multiple
means of teaching.
 It still is a great concern that the developed assessment scheme for the online semester would be adequate
and unbiased enough to ensure comprehensive evaluation of students' performance.
 The practical courses are integral parts of Engineering, Architecture and Pharmacy courses that require
physical presence on campus for laboratory demonstration. One strategy is to lengthen the semester by
certain weeks to accommodate the laboratory courses after the online semester ends with the hope in mind
to move back to campus. If not, the plan is to have groups of students at a time performing the laboratory
work maintaining safe distancing.
No matter the number and complexity in challenges, universities in Bangladesh should always look for the best
solution and alternative that will fit the purpose of the students prioritizing the quality of education over anything
else. This outlook, if needed to be inherently adopted all over the country, Government needs to be supportive
through UGC in legislating the optimum but specific strategies on implementation. Collating the experiences,
documentations on platforms and other research from the institutions who have gone through these experiences
would be instrumental for effective improvisation of online education in Bangladesh in future.

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