While teachers and principals agreed it was important to adopt blended learning practices in a digital era, they also pointed towards the existing digital inequalities in the country exacerbated by the financial struggles due to the pandemic and suggested that the policy be introduced on a voluntary basis.

What does the policy suggest?

The UGC committee tasked with preparing the note said that the decision was taken as per the new National Education Policy 2020, which calls for blended learning. “Given the emergence of digital technologies and the emerging importance of leveraging technology for teaching-learning at all levels from school to higher education, the NEP 2020 recommends for use of blended models of learning. The NEP 2020 states that while promoting digital learning and education, the importance of face-to-face in-person learning is fully recognised. Accordingly, different effective models of blended learning will be identified for appropriate replication for different subjects,” the UGC document said.

The document added that blended learning increases the opportunity for collaboration between stakeholders in different cities in addition to “learning anytime and anywhere” without “the barriers of time and location”.

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The report said the blended learning mode would enable students to engage in self-learning and would develop a “self-driving force.”

The draft concept note also lists seven blended learning activities that can be improvised and adopted for the higher education sector. These include flipped classrooms where students watch a short lecture video online and come into the classroom to complete activities like projects, group work, or other exercises.

Many stakeholders also pointed out that a year of online learning had provided expertise to teachers on digital content, which should be continued as students needed to be prepared for a digital era.

Rama Sharma, principal of Delhi’s Hansraj College, said that adopting blended learning would not be difficult as colleges have had a year of experience in dealing with online content. “Compared to last year, the situation is better now as both students and teachers know how to go about it. The online component right now is at 100% since colleges are closed. So, 40% of the syllabus being taught online will not be an issue. Digital space is growing exponentially, and our teachers and students need to be trained in the area,” she said.

Sharma added there are concerns of students in rural areas being left out due to online learning, colleges will be able to help those students during classes held for 60% of the syllabus. “If 60% of the syllabus is being taught offline, it means that students will be coming to colleges. We can hold remedial classes and tutorials and students who weren’t able to understand the e-learning material can take help from their teachers then,” she said.

Concerns and demands of teachers

Manoj Sinha, principal of Aryabhatta College, said that despite the growing popularity of online learning content, stakeholders may be wary of opting for remote learning options. “The academic community needs to give the appropriate feedback on the proposed document to the UGC so that the policies are accordingly rationalised. The choice needs to remain with students whether they want to go for the blended mode of learning or classroom learning,” he said.

Arvinder Ansari, who teaches sociology at Jamia Millia Islamia, said when it comes to teaching pedagogies, the connection between teachers and students has been lost completely through the digital mode. “Gradually, we can think about blended learning with minor courses going online but shifting completely would not be a good choice. Students should be allowed to choose between the modes of learning due to the digital divide and poor internet penetration across India,” said Ansari.

Several teachers said that access to the internet is a pertinent issue and would determine the feasibility of the blended learning programme.

Shiksha Rani, who teaches political science at Bhagini Nivedita college in outer Delhi’s Najafgarh area, said that citing internet issues, only 50-60% of her students attended the online classes during the pandemic whereas 80-90% of students used to attend offline classes before Covid.

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“Online learning is the only suitable during a pandemic because there is no other alternative. But students will learn better through face-to-face interactions and even teachers communicate better when a rapport is established. This proposal will be difficult for teachers as well as they have to simultaneously manage both online and offline lessons,” she said. Rani suggested that if the proposal were to be made mandatory, teachers would have to divide the batches as per the students who were likely to attend online classes and those who would not.

The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) has also opposed the move saying the policy would “remove the need to hire teachers” and “truncate learning”.

Rajib Ray, DUTA president, said that the policy documents fail to address the quality of degree in terms of “meaningful composition and employability.”

“Our experience of online teaching of over a year tells us that it is highly unequal and inadequate. Classrooms cannot be replaced. Online teaching-learning reduces human interactions and truncates learning,” Ray said.

What do students think?

Several students HT spoke to said they were against the blended learning practices and that government universities – state and central – should allow for equitable access to education instead of ignoring the digital barriers in India.

Satyajit Kumar from Bodh Gaya in Bihar, who is a first-year student of History at St Stephen’s College, said that several of his friends had to limit the number of questions they asked during virtual classes as it would mean crossing their designated data limit for the day.

“Even though I upgraded my internet pack and am spending more than I usually would, I have to limit the number of questions or doubts I ask in each class because, in that limited 2 GB data, I have to attend five one-hour classes. If I ask too many questions, it might extend the class, and then attending the next session may be an issue,” he said.

Final-year political science student Hitesh Tanotra, who studies in Rajdhani College, said a large number of students at the Delhi University are from marginalised backgrounds, which is why adopting blended learning is not feasible.

“Not every student will have access to the internet and smartphones for online education. In many houses, one smartphone is shared by three students. How can we expect to introduce a mandatory online learning component? Besides, online learning has affected our academic growth along with the overall development of students and won’t be helpful for students,” he said.

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Sakshi Gupta, a third-year student of Kalindi College, said that in the past year, it has been difficult for her to manage classes. “Internet recharge rates are a matter of concern, and we cannot afford Wi-Fi. These factors, along with connectivity issues, made online education difficult for us last year,” she said.

Lessons from the pandemic

When Covid-19 struck last year, the education sector was unwillingly propelled towards a massive change without any preparation within a few weeks. Learning shifted from classrooms to virtual rooms leaving many students behind due to lack of access to uninterrupted internet or devices along with connectivity issues in several parts of the country.

From learning to tutorials to even examinations, everything moved online leaving several students at a disadvantage including disabled students who found it harder to access the online learning material due to lack of inclusive content.

In September, an undergraduate student from Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi died by suicide in her hometown in Telangana after undergoing several problems including the switch to online education, her parents said.

According to a survey conducted by the Lady Shri Ram College Students’ Union last year, 40% of around 1,400 students said they were attending classes without a stable internet connection.

Delhi University professor Rajesh Jha said during the online open book examination conducted last year, several disadvantaged students from marginalised categories suffered the most.

“The most affected were the students from School of Open Learning who mostly come from marginalised backgrounds or disabled students who did not get the necessary infrastructure. A pandemic is not the time for reform and introducing mandatory blended learning as it will leave students at a huge disadvantage.”

Jha said that the availability of the internet and smartphone does not signal that classroom learning can be replaced by blended learning. “Online classes or learning material require more data and not every student can afford the internet pack which comes at around ₹400-500 and even then, does not have enough data per day. Several teachers and colleges had to raise money last year to help students from low-income backgrounds or even lower-middle-class backgrounds with internet access,” he said.