The education industry is changing with leaps and bounds with the technology onslaught and new learning solutions. And, 2019 is expected to be an interesting year for education in India.
Here are the education trends which you can expect in 2019:
1. Growth of integrated learning solutions
While on one hand, it is fascinating to see schools — mainly in urban centers, adopt technology with alacrity, a very large number has yet to experience its benefits owing to connectivity and infrastructure issues, and therefore rely on the traditional ‘chalk and talk’ model of education. India needs bespoke education solutions that align with its socio-economic-technological landscape.
Integrated learning solutions that seamlessly combine print books with digital learning aids appear to be a great fit for India, and their demand is expected to surge significantly in the coming years. Clearly, it is impractical for schools to wait for a 100% digital transformation, and therefore solutions with textbooks as the learning base along with optimum digital infrastructure requirements are a more practical idea!
2. Adoption of formative assessment solutions
The last few years have rightly witnessed a lot of debate on the importance of learning outcomes. As a result, there has been an increased focus on assessment as a theme.
The catch, however, lies in choosing the right assessment solution. The routine assessment solutions adopt a cookie-cutter approach by just testing for basic recall, that too at the end of the term.
On the other hand, formative assessment solutions are designed to analyse social and personal competencies and test the learners’ progress alongside curriculum delivery, and hence, are more suited to ensuring that learning makes an impact. Formative assessments are also adaptive, giving the learner a personalized feel of outcomes. Learning institutions are increasingly adopting formative assessment solutions.
3. Learning through regional languages
Ours is a nation of varied languages, and hence, rendering anything via one language alone will be rather ineffective in terms of reach. Earlier this year, Google announced support to seven Indian languages through Google Translate. Regional language publishing is itself on the rise given the demand from vernacular learners, and we expect this trend to continue.
Learning through regional language content and/or bilingual content will only grow as a trend in the coming year, ensuring coverage of a wider learner base
4. Increased demand for professional development of teachers
The teacher is the principal pivot in the learning eco-system. It is important to familiarize teachers with 21st-century competencies and skills, new teaching-learning pedagogies, and augmenting their lateral thinking abilities through professional development programmes. In 2014-15, the government launched the Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching (PMMMNMTT) as a central scheme with All-India coverage.
Initiatives like these have spurred interest in teacher training and there should be several more offers in the coming year, both public and private, to help educators become more proficient.
2019 promises to be an interesting year for education, where we expect the above-mentioned trends to amplify, all of which augur well for the holistic development of education in India.
– This article has been contributed by Sivaramakrishnan Venkateswaran, Managing Director, Oxford University Press India
