Importance of education in almost all walks of life has increased with the support of information and communication technologies (ICT). During the past 20 years, the use of ICT has fundamentally changed the working of education. In the current environment-conscious world, the importance of education and acceptability of ICT as a social necessity has been increasing. Social acceptability of information and communication tools is necessary to improve the mobility in the society and increase the pitch for equity and social justice. Education as a qualitative development is not confined within the classroom structure. The modern tools of ICT such as eLearning and online practice of learning and getting information are much sought after by the students as well as by the institutions.
The government is spending a lot of money on ICT. In the higher education sector, the National Mission on Education is emphasising on the role of ICT in increasing the enrolment ratio in higher education. School education in India has a problem of high dropout rate and we need to work on how to decrease this rate. Similarly, in the field of higher education, we need to increase the number of students. Therefore, if we make our learning more engaging with the use of ICT, it can completely change how our education system works. Also, we should examine the challenges of cost-factor and availability of trained teachers in the process of dissemination of education with the help of ICT.
India is developing as a knowledge economy and it cannot function without the support of ICT. The gap between demand and supply of higher education has necessitated the governments and institutions to formulate the policies for the better use of ICT. And, in order to bridge the gap, it is necessary to evolve the cooperation between the public and private sectors. The education ICT policy should identify specific ways in which the application of ICT will enhance the educational capacity and the capability of higher education institutions. According to a recent study, innovations such as using Twitter to send messages are really helpful in disseminating education. In a similar fashion, the use of YouTube in sharing video information will go a long way in disseminating education. During the last decade, higher education has gained importance in India?s changing policy landscape as the government realises that India?s strength lies in education.
The author is faculty at the GL Bajaj Institute of Management & Research