Ketan Deshpande, the CEO of Friends Union for Energising Lives (FUEL), shares his insights on the impact of ‘Digital India’ and the critical role played by technology in reshaping learning paradigms with FE Education Online.
What is the best thing about today’s education system?
Education is becoming more democratised thanks to ‘Digital India’. Internet connectivity and the smartphone boom has enabled remote communities to access education in the absence of physical infrastructure. There is a shift towards skill-based learning that enhances employability – which is an urgent need. So many qualified and degree-holding Indian youth miss out on opportunities because they do not have the right skills to be hired. This is changing now since the government policy roadmap also encourages learning that promotes problem solving, critical thinking, and life skills.
Perhaps the most impactful change was ushered in by India’s fast adoption of the digital age. This medium has opened up more avenues of skill development that in turn have spawned newer employment opportunities.
Digital has also exposed our youth to trends, popular culture and living standards from around the world. This new cohort of youngsters, even in far-flung areas, is aspirational and restless for growth. They demand opportunities that were not available to their progenitors and the internet has fanned these desires.
The supply for this demand has to be a corporate-led effort. India’s demographic advantage will only be tapped when the working age population, especially early to mid-career professionals are adequately trained for upcoming, new age jobs. Corporates that strive to be at the cutting edge of technology or incorporate the best practices and processes ahead of competition, sense the urgent need to prepare their human resources for a changing business landscape. Universities backed by corporate funding through the CSR route could accelerate India’s upskilling programme and ensure that graduates find dignified work that gives them a fair compensation.
What is the one thing you would like to change in the system?
India needs to quickly skill and train millions of youth in jobs of the future. Courses on Artificial intelligence, internet of things, 3D printing etc should be common in colleges/universities and even in schools to expose students to these emerging technologies. For those interested to explore further, they should be given opportunities to specialise.
I would like to see a more organised and coordinated approach to upskilling the future workforce. Government effort in this direction will not suffice. Corporates should unite their forces and resources to upgrade employability because earning a degree alone does not guarantee livelihood.
CSR-funded programmes create social impact while investing in India’s potential – because it is the skilled worker that adds value to an economy. I would therefore like to see several more CSR-funded universities support and mentor students from diverse backgrounds so that they too get a career launchpad.
What is the role digital has played in the evolution of the education system?
Like I said before, digital has helped educational outreach. Earlier, distance learning was already offered by universities in India, empowering students to earn degrees while pursuing jobs or helping them cut additional living costs incurred by moving base to towns and cities with educational facilities.
Digital further helped education penetrate the hinterlands by removing the need for physical transportation of correspondence material. Digital education has really built on the advantages of distance learning, offering higher degrees of interactivity between mentors and peers, almost synchronous assessment, engaging content through videos and presentations and gamification of learning through quizzes and flash cards. It also offers greater flexibility because a learner can access the course from anywhere as long as s/he has access to an internet-enabled device and connectivity.
However, it is still a challenge for households where internet-enabled devices are unavailable or many people share one device or where electricity supply is erratic.
CSR-funded universities could fill the gap in this area by running institutes in underserved locations. I must emphasise that with focused spending on education and employability, corporates can help bolster India’s current high trajectory growth rate, securing the country’s place among the top developed nations in the world.
What has been the disadvantage of digital in education?
The Achilles’ heel of digital education is the profusion of unqualified and unverified content. While the digital revolution has its immense benefits, the democratisation of access and authorship has downgraded content on the internet because there are no intermediaries to fact check/filter what is shared.
Information overload makes it difficult for learners to sift fact from fiction. Information fatigue is real as well and learners may prefer to engage with content that is easily available rather than access multiple authentic resources and critically compare the materials.
Digital platforms have enabled the boom of unqualified educators and poorly researched content that is produced merely to entertain. For education to truly reach Bharat we need qualified professionals and one-on-one support for students. We need institutions that will sponsor our youth in small villages and towns to aim for degrees in emerging sectors that usually have a high financial entry barrier. Such institutions will only be bolstered by the reach of digital India since they may subsequently offer their courses online as well.
What is the career advice you would like to give to students?
We live in a rapidly evolving world where the jobs of tomorrow do not even exist today. Technological innovation has generated employment in emerging areas. For example, AI chatbots respond more efficiently to specifically crafted commands – knowing how to use these innovations requires upgrading.
Therefore, I urge students to keep upskilling and to continuously learn. When you hear about new concepts like say machine learning, blockchain, quantum computing or 3D printing, be curious and learn about them. The internet is a treasure trove of resources. There are numerous online learning platforms that offer introductory/beginner courses for free. These familiarise and equip you with a broad understanding of subjects. More advanced courses can give you richer expertise. So, my advice is to stay curious and be a life-long learner.