Published Paper Details:

The World Health Organization has declared the pandemic of the novel SARS-CoV2 infection early 2020 and it has now become a major public health challenge worldwide. The infection control and physical distancing measures are crucial to prevent the virus from further spreading and help to control the pandemic situation. Any freak accident that happens in the world will always leave its impact on education. And so the epidemic of COVID 19 has its footprints on education. The purpose of education is to mold a person to be perfect. Education provides the pathway to reach their destiny. Education helps in inculcating social responsibilities as well. The main core of education is to learn. With the COVID-19 -a novel corona virus disease spreading across the globe, the policy of compulsory physical distancing has been implemented in many countries including in India, resulting in nationwide school and university closures. Educational institutions have come to a functional standstill since they had to protect their students from viral exposures, which are likely in a highly socializing student community. The outbreak of this dangerous virus across the globe has forced educational institutions to shut down to control the spread of this virus. In the beginning of February 2020, schools only in China and a few other affected countries were closed due to the proliferating contamination. However, by mid-March, nearly 75 countries have implemented or announced closure of educational institutions. As on 10th March, school and university closures globally due to the COVID-19. According to UNESCO, by the end of April 2020,186 countries have implemented nationwide closures, affecting about 73.8% of the total enrolled learners (UNESCO, 2020). Even though the lockdown and social distancing are the only ways to slowdown the spread of the COVID-19 by breaking the chain of transmission, closure of educational institutions has affected large number of students. As the schools and colleges are shut for an indefinite period, both educational institutions and students are experimenting with ways to complete their prescribed syllabi in the stipulated time frame in line with the academic calendar. These measures have certainly caused a degree of inconvenience, but they have also prompted new examples of educational innovation using digital interventions. This is a silver lining on a dark cloud considering the sluggish pace of reforms in academic institutions which continues with millennia-old lecture-based approaches in teaching, ingrained institutional biases and obsolete classrooms. Nevertheless, COVID-19 has been a trigger for educational institutions worldwide to pursue creative approaches in a relatively short notice. This epidemic made the teaching professionals thinks of alternative methods of teaching during this lockdown. And thus it paves the way towards web-based learning or e-learning or online-learning.