2020 has been a year of challenge and change for all of us. A year when education was not limited to using a blackboard, duster, and chalk to complete the syllabus. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions have now been forced to go digital. While online education as a trend isn’t new but thanks to the pandemic and the lockdown which has acted as a catalyst to put it into action. Eventually, teachers are also slowly shifting their focus from teaching the same curriculum to bringing in new ways of imparting knowledge and skills, emphasising more on nurturing students towards not just get better jobs but also helping them grow as individuals.

In today’s era of disruptive technologies and emphasis on skill based, what’s in store for academic institutes in 2021 is a question we all have in mind. But to sum up the year 2020 and its impact on the education sector, we have put together some year end notes from some of the key industry experts who have been significantly contributed towards shaping and influencing schools and colleges now and in the coming years.

Nitish Jain, President, SP Jain School of Global Management, "The year 2020 was marked by two key developments with far-reaching consequences. On the one hand,  the COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented challenge for the education sector, while on the other hand, the draft National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 heralded a new age for Indian education. The former also paved the way for innovation, with our traditional brick-and-mortar education model being compelled to transition to the digital world through alternative pedagogical methods and tools. Going forward, we will see even greater adoption of digital learning, as educational institutions redesign their pedagogical models to leverage the best of both, offline and online, methods of teaching. Online access to lectures, recordings and assignments will provide greater flexibility to students and augment their learning efficiency. The NEP 2020 also augurs well and, with timely and uniform implementation, will redefine how students plan their career paths in conjunction with their core abilities and passions, leading to much more promising outcomes. The management education segment will additionally experience disruption, given the increase in uncertainty in the business environment, and the technological and other changes spurred by the pandemic, which are likely to continue in the "new normal", and will require certain skill sets in the workforce that may be different from those employers looked for earlier.”

As we say goodbye to this year 2020, let us lend a moment to gratitude, for having made it thus far, and endeavor to rebuild lives and economies in 2021 by incorporating all our learnings from 2020.

Sumeet Mehta, Cofounder & CEO, LEAD School, Thanks to COVID 19, Edtech is not a choice anymore, it is an essential. Technological innovations like online classes, learning management systems, etc. are now becoming a part and parcel of our education system. While everyone from banks, to news, to offices have adopted technology systems to operate more effectively & efficiently, the classroom and school had been stagnant for the past 60-70 years. Covid-19 disrupted this status quo and now school owners have been forced to embrace technology.

As we come out of the pandemic, core education will continue to be offered in schools but schools will look and act very different. There will be far greater permeation of systems and technology to make schools run effectively. Till about 12 years of age, mediated learning (learning assisted by a trusted adult) is essential. Teachers will continue to play an important role till high school but they will need to be enabled by technology. Going forward, learning will become more and more personalised. Schools will need to personalise for students' speed of understanding, interest in different subjects and language ability.

Since students will come back after a year of interruptions, schools will need to plan for bridge courses and remedial to cover gaps of the previous year and prepare students for the new class. In addition, schools will need to invest in building the capability of their teachers for socio-emotional support, pastoral care and access to medical services so that the well-being and safety of students is taken care of. Schools will need to embrace technology to be able to handle a hybrid mode of operating, facilitate learning beyond the boundary of the school on days the child cannot come in and enabling teachers to handle the complexity of classes in this world.

India has to not only brought back all the students who have suffered massive learning losses in 2020, it also has to ensure it stays focused on improving the quality of learning outcomes in its schools. It will be easy to get busy with survival but true leadership would be to aim high, and bring back students to a new, better normal and not regress to 5 year old levels of poor access and poor outcomes.

Dr. Akhil Shahani, Managing Director, Thadomal Shahani Centre for Management, Shahani Group and Ask.Careers, "One of the very few positive aspects of COVID's effects in 2020, was that traditional resistance to adopting Edtech in the classroom by schools & colleges around the world was broken. Institutional faculty and administrators had to quickly adapt to new pedagogies to facilitate effective online education of their students. I believe that some of these advanced methods of teaching will remain even after physical classrooms restart in 2021.

Additionally, the Indian government released a very forward-thinking National Education Policy which emphasised the need to move the education system away from exam-oriented rote learning and adapt to more interactive pedagogical methods which develop critical thinking & employability among graduates. It also planned to streamline regulations to encourage Indian edupreneurs to start and run high-quality institutions with less government interference. NEP 2020 needs to be quickly implemented by Indian states to ensure our country is able to benefit from our demographic dividend."

Hersh Shah, CEO, India Affiliate of Institute of Risk Management, UK, "As we near the end of 2020, it is time to look back at an extraordinary year where we were all faced with an unprecedented and unexpected reality. The COVID-19 pandemic was an eye-opener for the business world, which was plunged abruptly into a struggle for survival, with a global lockdown, public health care, and a steep drop in demand. The massive changes brought about by the pandemic were complex and threw up a series of challenges, and as many industries and economies slipped into recession, it was clear that existing risk strategies were highly inadequate.

In this milieu, organisations with resilient business models and robust risk strategies, such as some in the ed-tech and IT sectors, were able to rise to the occasion, shift gears rapidly, and continue or even expand business operations, with minimal issues. For over 30 years, we, at IRM India, have been advocating for a holistic, enterprise-wide approach to risk management, through risk frameworks and best practices designed to forewarn of, and forestall, all types of threats. The difference in the performance of various organisations during this pandemic only serves to reinforce this reality. As we say goodbye to this year, let us lend a moment to gratitude, for having made it thus far, and endeavor to rebuild lives and economies in 2021 by incorporating all our learnings from 2020."

Kavita Sahay Kerawalla, Vice Chairperson, VIBGYOR Group of Schools, "In 2020,  the world faced an unprecedented challenge of the pandemic. While India’s school education system also experienced extreme disruption, some institutions were able to rise to the occasion. As classrooms turned digital, schools, faculty, children, as well as parents, adapted quickly to the new environment, in the pursuit of education while also prioritizing the safety and wellbeing of students.

Despite all constraints, 2020 also ushered in a new era for the Indian education sector, in the form of the new National Education Policy (NEP 2020) which outlined reforms that were long overdue. The successful implementation of the policy will empower students to take charge of their education and chart their own learning journey according to their passions and interests. Taken together, the success of online teaching during the pandemic, and the envisioned policy landscape, will herald a new beginning for Indian education .”

Rohit Manglik, CEO, EduGorilla, “With the acceleration in digitization, the year 2020 brought a new dawn in the ed-tech segment. Amid the suspension of classroom teaching due to the pandemic, online learning emerged as the panacea to sustain the momentum. The ed-tech segment continued to be under investors’ radar and exemplified resilience despite the pandemic.  This year also witnessed the formulation of the National Education Policy 2020 that underlines futuristic measures to revamp the Indian educational system in tune with industry requirements.  

We foresee the momentum to sustain in 2021 as well with the implementation of the AI mission. Besides Artificial Intelligence, we foresee gamification and cloud technology to drive engagement and boost the user experience in e-learning. Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities will emerge as sunrise destinations for the ed-tech players and account for a substantial ed-tech demand.  The year 2021 is also expected to witness path-breaking reforms such as the institution of a single educational regulator and the introduction of a common entrance test to central universities to streamline the system and ensure hassle-free access to education. The Budget 2021 will be a much-awaited policy document of the year as the government tries to bridge the skill gap and widen access to opportunities in the segment.”