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Online versus Ofﬂine Mode of Education -Is India ready to meet the challenges
of Online Education in lockdown?
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Journal of the Social Sciences July 2020 48(3)
404
Journal of the Social Sciences
E-ISSN: 0975-8935 P-ISSN: 0253-1097
Cosmos Impact Factor: 6.120 (2019)
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405
Online versus Offline Mode of Education –Is India ready to meet the challenges of
Online Education in lockdown?
Naman Wadhwa1 (Student, B.Tech Biotechnology)
Sunita Khatak*1 (Assistant Professor)
Poonam2 (Assistant Professor)
1.Department of Biotechnology, University Institute of Engineering & Technology, Kurukshetra University,
Kurukshetra-136119, Haryana, India
2. Department of Applied Psychology, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Hisar-125001,
Haryana, India
Abstract
India comes second after china in terms of population and stands as the youngest nation on the planet with
an average age of around 30 years. Year 2020 initiated with great hopes and opportunities in India also but
soon the country went into lockdown to avoid further spread of Covid-19 pandemic. In this crucial time, the
most affected is the education sector which suffered drastically from primary to higher streams in school,
colleges and universities. Digital alternatives were streamlined to cover up the syllabus and mobile phones
along with other electronic gadgets which were prohibited and strictly banned in schools became the only
supporting gadgets during the lockdown. To analyze the effects of sudden embracement of online mode by
students and teachers one survey was conducted where the major population involved was of students,
teaching faculty and parents of school going children. A total of 301 participants responded to the survey
and results were promising and precise. With the advent in technology the importance of online education
was clearly emphasized along with the pros and cons of both mode of education. The results revealed the
loopholes in online education system and some positive aspects of offline or classroom teaching. The basic
infrastructure in India being a developing country needs to be furnished by government before
implementing online education on mass scale. Learning is the crux of how we humans sustain and progress.
Both online and offline learning educates people to help them become productive members of society. There
is not a single learning mode that can be guaranteed to be 100% effective. Taking the best of these two core
systems and combining them is what needs to be done as relying on only one of the above mentioned mode
can never be very effective, it has to be a blend of both.
Key words: 1.Online, 2.Offline, 3.Education, 4.Electronic gadgets, 5.Digital, 6.Population.
Introduction
India is known for its education system from ancient times as a centre of high learning. Nalanda and
Takshashila were two most famous and oldest universities in the world and contributed a big part of Indus
valley civilization. Since the times of Vedic civilization, education owes great prominence in India starting
from Gurukul and Ashrams, education which evolved into ancient universities. Earlier the ultimate goal of
the education was to attain, “Moksha” or enlightenment. Nalanda is located in Bihar, Patna and was
considered as Buddhist centre of learning from 427 to 1197 CE which flourished for almost 600years till 12th
century. The students enrolled form China, Persia and Greece and the it possess the largest library of ancient
world having 1000s of manuscripts on different subjects. In 2010, the parliament of India passed a bill
approving plans to restore Nalanda as Modern Nalanda International University for post graduate research.
While Takshila lies in North West of Pakistan and is ranked amongst top visited places in Pakistan, once it had
more than 10,500 students studying more than 60 subjects [1]. After the independence, the Indian
government implemented the education standards made by Britishers, in accordance with the infrastructure

406
present at that time. We have entered the age of digital revolution but a large population of Indian students
still solely relies on typical blackboard teaching. As there was a sudden lockdown, due to the worldwide
Corona virus pandemic, one of the sector that has come to back foot is education. To minimize the loss in
studies, government circulated guidelines to practice online teaching and complete the left out syllabus using
digital platform without a basic blueprint.
Online Teaching incorporates the use of internet to deliver study material to students in the form of video-
tutorials, presentations and texts. The primary objective is to dispense knowledge to students and enable
them to learn at their own pace and convenience. While online classes can be taken through video
conferencing, assignments can be submitted by students by using Google platforms. Most of these platforms
are free to operate, making it easy for both students and teachers. There are many benefits of online
learning like the ease of studying at home, flexibility, no partiality and time constraints. While you are
studying online, all the documentation is saved in the drive and hence the students can mainly focus on
learning. Online teaching allows ones to carry on study even along with job and Massive Open Online Courses
can be supplemented along with classroom teaching for dispensing knowledge in a better way amongst the
students.[2] The mоѕt соmmоn соmрlаint аbоut online lеаrning is that it lacks fасе-tо-fасе intеrасtiоn and
ѕроntаnеоuѕ exchange of idеаѕ that one саn only grab with сlаѕѕmаtеѕ аnd a tеасhеr in rеаl timе. Offline
teaching refers to the conventional classroom teaching where both teachers and students need to be
physically present. The personal interaction of teacher is far better than online mode. The tests and exams are
taken on sheet and there are virtually no chances of copying. In offline learning being face to face allows more
participation and activity based on traditional forms of education. Traditional education requires students to
develop a sense of discipline and responsibility. Learners can gain an understanding of the subject content
and make connections between them in real time. If a student doesn’t understand what is being taught, they
can immediately gain clarity by asking their teacher. Through all the interaction in the class, students learn
how to behave socially and they understand how to handle responsibility. Online lеаrning is totally
tесhnоlоgу dереndеnt. One requires decent internet connection for completing the online tasks. If the
computer doesn’t work properly, it becomes difficult to submit time bound assignments. This all doesn’t
happen with offline learning, but offline learning is a time consuming process. The aim of the literature
review is to understand the scholarly works on the topic of e-learning both from the technological point of
view and for its impact on the students. The research highlights the gaps in the existing mode of education
and marks the areas that the future studies should cover to bridge the gaps.
Pros and Cons of Online mode of education As with everything in life, we should take a good observation at
the pros and cons of online classes. Here are some factors to evaluate:-
Pros of online classes Cons of online classes
1.) You can learn whatever and whenever you want.
2) You can learn at your own place, anywhere.
3.) You can learn with technical skills.
4.)There is less pressure in online classes.
1.) You cannot interact face to face.
2.) Online classes increase personal responsibilities.
3.) In Online classes students, faculty and other
doesn't have the same opportunities to make network
connections.
4.) In Online classes, you will need to in charge of your
own education.

407
Methodology
This research was conducted by an online survey over Google Forms and it was circulated through Whats
App and e- mails. Response of each participant was collected using linked survey which were automatically
generated and recorded. However those who failed in completing the survey were excluded from the analysis.
The range of the age of participants was 14 to 76 years. No other demographic variable such as ethnicity,
socioeconomic class or residence were considered in the present study. The link was disconnected in one
week time .The questionnaire included 19 questions covering psychological, health and technical aspects and
were applied on a sample consisting of 301 participants which in turn reflects major population of students,
faculties and parents of school going children. The period of application of the questionnaire was18-25th of
May, 2020. Of these 49 percent were females while 51% were males. The survey was developed using the free
software "Google form" and the further results were analyzed using MS-Excel. Questions were asked in the
form of multiple choice based formats. There were no right and wrong answers but it was made to analyze
the overall opinion. After collecting the data, every question percentage was calculated.
Objective
The idea was to analyze the opinion of students, teachers and parents about online teaching because it has
become an effective way to dispense knowledge during the Covid-19 Lockdown period. It was also aimed to
find relative awareness of concept of online education and offline education and to analyze the drawbacks in
implementing online education and its correlation to health issues.
Questions asked in survey
 Do you feel that internet connectivity is poor for implementing online education in India?
 Do you think that online teaching is good for students, are they able to grasp concept.
 Does online teaching make students lethargic or lazy?
 Do you face backbone issues while sitting for too long in front of laptop or mobile screens?
 Is personal interaction of teacher better than online interaction?
 Do you agree with the fact that security is compromised while using Video conferencing platforms
(Zoom app)?
 Do you feel that online teaching reduce chance of favoritism and partiality?
 Would you like to attend online classes at home or go out in harsh weather?
 Is online class better than classroom teaching?
 Are online assignments good for students?
 Do you agree with the fact that eye issues are raising amongst children due to online teaching?
 Do students get stressed when they get online assignment with a deadline?
 Do you agree to the fact that online teaching reduce carbon emissions and saved time which is
consumed during travelling?
 Do you face issues while downloading videos?
 Do you feel that social skill won’t develop with online teaching?
 Do you agree to fact that online classes increase mobile addiction in kids?
 Do children face issues in attending online classes because of single phone at home?
 Do you agree to the fact that students copy –paste assignments in online education?
 How much would you rate online teaching on a scale of 0 to 10?

408
Results
Evolution and education have driven mankind towards betterment with their potential impacts. While the
government emphasizing online education and pumping capital to build online infrastructure, it becomes
important to gauge its effectiveness and the issues arising because of its implementation. An online survey
titled, “Is online education beneficial?” was conducted where few multiple-choice questions were asked to
analyze the opinion of the stakeholders, i.e. students and teachers in the state of Haryana and a total of 301
participants responded where male and females have equal contribution to outcomes.
Physical issues
Studying via digital media is causing a lot of eye strain on students, most of them are suffering from eye
redness, excessive watering of eyes, sensitivity to light, insomnia etc. Amid these circumstances, getting
material printed is often a risky option and may not be much accessible to all. The students of college or
those in higher education may comply with this, but some students who are in their schools are in a rough
patch due to it. Eyes are most affected with use of smart phones because the blue light emitted by the screens
is responsible for disturbing the sleep cycle. 75% of the audience was concerned for the increasing eyes
issues amongst children. Excessive screen usage was linked with high blood pressure, diabetes, vision loss
and joints issues in children and adolescents [3]. In a 2016 study, it was found that children who got less time
from their parents were more likely to develop eye issues [4]. Finally, online based education also raises
some health-related issues connected predominantly to spending long periods of time working with
computers. Backbone too gets negatively impacted because of the poor posture and 83% of the audience had
complaint for backaches. 54% of the participants confirmed that sitting on computers, laptops and watching
mobiles for hours makes students lethargic. Thus, parental control can help in minimizing the chances of eye
issues amongst children. Problems such as eye-strain, back pain, lack of movement, and even mental
disorders. Whether the learning is offline or online, the main objective of efforts is to impart knowledge to
students and the health related issues should be equally given importance by education and health sector
both before implementing it on mass scale.
Psychological issues
Time bound assignments are marked with the fast performance of the students but they do become a source
of stress because of the deadlines. Sixty three percent participants agreed to it. At junior levels, there is a
need of counseling and government should ensure the digital resources, especially in poor rural households.
College students mostly don’t have any such issue but most of the students do not have laptops or computer
system at home they can not comply with the pending assignments. Singh and her coworkers in 2012
evidenced that student taking online education format are more efficient than offline counterparts. Course
load negatively impacted the efficiency of students [5]. Cheating isn’t a good habit but online assignments are
often taken casually by the students and they end up copying them and it may become a habit. Fifty three
percent of the respondent honestly agreed to the fact that students’ copy-paste the assignments. Technology-
enhanced learning may also cause negative resentments with students who lack sufficient motivation and
the ability to organize workload and learning independently. Another important consideration of online
learning is the issue of communication and information overload. Too many contacts and continuous
communication via a variety of channels might cause considerable distraction preventing students from
focused, concentrated learning and task solving. Inappropriately structured and delivered instruction may
further lead to information and study overload. It could be assumed that the overwhelming increase of
workload is one of the factors that spark plagiarism and electronic forms of cheating. Mobile addiction is yet
another major problem and seventy one percent respondents confirmed it.

409
Technical aspects
The internet connectivity in our nation is another factor that affects productivity in implementing online
education. Eighty two percent participants believed in the fact. While seventy percent sample population of
the respondent agreed that they faced issues while downloading videos. The video conferencing app
platforms like Google Meet, Zoom App, etc. expanded and the whole system feared the possible negative
consequences of video conferencing and as per our survey, Sixty two percent of the participants agreed that
they were concerned about the security of these platforms. Moreover, 66% of the audience agreed that every
school going kid doesn’t possess a smart phone. Moravec and his co associates in 2015 observed how e-
learning tools impact students’ achievement. The study was done on 2000 students. Investigation compares
the results of questions from the area of law where the tool was provided in a pilot version with the results of
questions, where the e-learning tool was not provided. The researchers observed that the e-learning tools
have affected the students’ results. Nevertheless, the belief of the e-learning tool may possibly have affected
the students negatively who will depend on given materials was disapproved [6]. Due to the sudden
implementation of this lockdown, none of the students have enough study material with them, they are totally
dependent digitally on internet sources and to those provided by teachers. Despite of getting all the material,
there can be some barriers in communication.
Social Skills
Human beings are social creature and cannot survive in isolation except in emergency or crisis. Personal
interaction of teacher in offline mode is more effective in dispensing knowledge than online education and it
was believed by 77% participants. Seventy percent of the respondent thought that social skills won’t develop
because of the online interaction. Levy in 2007 investigated a different aspect of e-learning for checking its
effectiveness by considering reviews from the students. The research work takes into account the view of
drop out students and compares them to the successful student [7]. There is found to be a striking difference
in their views as drop out find the e-learning as ineffective and useless. Forty seven percent of the
participants agreed that online education reduces chances of partiality and favoritism as compared to offline
mode. Classroom teaching is irreplaceable to large extent in terms of efficiency. Face interactions build
confidence. Sports, physical and co-curricular activities induce group management, leaderships,
communication skills, character development and overall personality development. The prayer sessions in
morning in primary schools inculcate moral values and holistic approach that altogether lacks in online mode.
General opinion
The general opinion about online teaching was surprising because respondent rated online education 5.5 on a
scale of ten. Literature strongly recommend that online mode of education is equally effective as offline mode
and has its own advantages in enhancing learning in education. The study revealed that additional factors
need to be elucidated like the need of design of digital learning material, learning goals, and student
preferences and characteristics. Eighty two percent of the participants said that online teaching is not at par
with the offline mode of dispensing education. While thirty three percent of the respondents believed that
they weren’t able to grasp concepts in online mode, while 66% of them said that online assignments are good
for the students. Shu-Sheng (2008) reported effectiveness of e-learning and the reason for dissatisfaction of
some of the e-learning students. The research surveys included 424 university students for their feedback on
effectiveness of e-learning. The findings showed that the intention and study focus are the main factors that
influence the objectives and usefulness of e-learning. Personal efficiency for the coursework is also a
determining factor for the outcomes. The examination of effectiveness of e-learning is useful for not just the
students but also for the trainers as it helps them in refining their methods of teaching [8].

410
Environmental aspects
Weather affects the productivity of humans and thus 55% of the participants agreed that they would better
prefer to stay at home than to go out. Students, who are in higher studies, are getting some rare quality time
with their parents, rather than being there just for a week on Indian festivals like Diwali or Holi. During the
lockdown, everyone noticed how nature rejuvenated and that happened as a result of drastic fall in pollution
levels and 56% of the participants agreed that it helps in reducing carbon emissions and saving time because
students and teachers would otherwise commute daily. Adopting online education would positively affect the
environment. The study conducted during Covid-19 highlighted that technical issues, student attention and
participation were found to be the major drawbacks in the implementation of the online education whereas
lesser costs, easier class management and opportunities for the growth were the major benefits [9]. In a
study conducted in Maharashtra, it was observed that adolescents were more vulnerable to the effects of
electronic gadgets and hence they need to be taught about the negative effects of electronic devices and it
must be made a part of the curriculum [10]. The role of a teacher gets diversified when it comes to online
teaching, he or she needs to be a content creator, subject matter expert, mentor and course designer too[11].
In a study, it was observed that students who were taught through blended mode of education i.e.
combination of offline and online mode had significantly better results than students who were solely taught
in classrooms by traditional methods[12]. China had reportedly the first cases of Covid-19 and a study of
Peking University’s model of online education revealed that it emphasized on effective delivery of
information, adequate support, encouraging more participation and a back-up plan to deal with unforeseen
incidents on online platforms[13]. Whereas, Indian universities didn’t had a full proof plan and country had
almost no better alternative than Zoom App. Sun and Chen in 2016 suggested that online course design
procedure involves well designed course content, motivated interaction between instructor and learners
along with. creation of a sense of online learning community .Rapid advancement of technology effect
strategy which in turn enhance university and faculty success in transitioning to teach online cost and quality
of higher education[14].
Conclusion
While online education is the only feasible method during the lockdown, the stakeholders are adapting to it,
and India has realized that it won’t stop even amidst lockdown, nor the education system would pause. This
lockdown has made us realize that we can overcome the odds and still grow effectively. Continuous efforts
from teachers and the dedication of students are foremost for the growth of students there are gaps in the
existing researches which may be covered through involvement of the opinion of the students and analysing
the effectiveness of e-learning with respect to adding value to the lives of the students instead of focussing on
just the technological aspects of it. With appropriate resources and counseling, this process is a boon to
students pursuing higher studies. Online Yoga sessions, eye exercise, Blue Light Filter Applications can be
installed in devices. Definitely, online education is the future of education and we need to adapt to it .We
believe that there is no better alternative known in this dreadful pandemic. Through further alterations in the
online education mode, while keeping in mind the health concerns of the stakeholders ie. teachers and
students, we can definitely overcome most of its ill effects.
Implications
1. Cognitive and teaching experience makes online teaching effective.
2. Promoting social presence in the students.
3. Pedagogical practice is also import for effective online teaching i.e. fostering relationship, flexibility and
communication etc.
4. Teaching presence should be incentive that encourages the community development process.

411
References
1. Pandya, D. R. N. (2014). Indian education system–a historical journey. Education, 3(3).
2. Devi, K. (2020). Benefits of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC). Studies in Indian Place Names, 40(33),
76-78.
3. Lissak,G.(2018).Adverse physiological and psychological effects of screen time on children and
adolescents: Literature review and case study. Environmental Research, 164, 149–157.
4. Chang, F. C., Chiu, C. H., Chen, P. H., Miao, N. F., Chiang, J. T., & Chuang, H. Y. (2018). Computer/mobile
device screen time of children and their eye care behavior: the roles of risk perception and
parenting. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 21(3), 179-186.
5. Singh, S., Rylander, D. H., & Mims, T. C. (2012). Efficiency of online vs. offline learning: A comparison of
inputs and outcomes. International Journal of Business, Humanities and Technology, 2(1), 93-98.
6. Moravec, T., Štěpánek, P., & Valenta, P. (2015). The influence of using e-learning tools on the results of
students at the tests. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 176, 81-86.
7. Levy, Y. (2007). Comparing dropouts and persistence in e-learning courses. Computers &
education, 48(2), 185-204.
8. Liaw, S. S. (2008). Investigating students’ perceived satisfaction, behavioral intention, and effectiveness
of e-learning: A case study of the Blackboard system. Computers & education, 51(2), 864-873.
9. Tripathi, Nilmani, Shunil Tripathi, and Nidhi Ahuja. "Is India Ready To Tap Into Virtual Teaching-A
Teachers Prospective." Purakala with ISSN 0971-2143 is an UGC CARE Journal 31.31 (2020): 65-78.
10. Kulkarni, S. M., & Bhore, N. R. (2019). Assess the Effects of Electronic Gadgets (Television, Mobile Phone
and Computer) on Health Status among Secondary School Students in the Selected Districts of
Maharashtra. International Journal of Health Sciences and Research, 9(4), 149-155.
11. Martin, F., Budhrani, K., Kumar, S., & Ritzhaupt, A. (2019). Award-winning faculty online teaching
practices: Roles and competencies. Online Learning, 23(1), 184-205.
12. Setyawan, Harits. "Blended Method: Online-Offline Teaching And Learning, On Students’ Reading
Achievement." English Education: Jurnal Tadris Bahasa Inggris 12.1 (2019): 22-33.
13. Bao, W. (2020). COVID‐19 and online teaching in higher education: A case study of Peking
University. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 2(2), 113-115.
14. Sun, A., & Chen, X. (2016). Online education and its effective practice: A research review. Journal of
Information Technology Education, 15.
*Corresponding author: sunitakhatak@gmail.com

412
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