Abstract

impact of pandemic COVID-19 is being felt in every sector around the world. The rules of engagements are now changed as countries are imposing blanket lockdowns nationwide. India is no exception. Thus schools and colleges are now forced to keep their shutters down as well. The already crumbling education system is now further forced to disintegrate. The technological divide among the urban and the rural, the rich and the poor is now more apparent as schools have adopted online teaching methods via various online platforms. The access to a smartphone varies across the nation and so does the basic literacy of how to operate them. Lack of internet penetration in India is another dilemma since only 50% of the households have an active internet connection. This has forced the current government to reinvent strategies to provide education via mass channels. DIKSHA platform is one such example. It's an online platform primarily for school education. It offers teachers, parents and students engaging learning material relevant to the prescribed school curriculum but requires an active internet connection. To bridge this gap, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting introduced SWAYAM PRABHA which has 32
DTH TV channels transmitting educational contents on 24/7 basis across the country. These platforms are absolutely free to use. But platforms like these are just a pedestal. Since education is a concurrent subject, states also bear the responsibility of ratifying their educational strategies. Many states are walking down the path of the central government by establishing their own platforms. The government of Nagaland was recently lauded for their education initiative. TV
and Radio education was offered through Doordarshan Kendra Kohima and All India RadiKohima while in the second phase the programme expanded to digital content distribution through a dedicated Youtube Channel. This paper highlights some measures taken byGovernments of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal pradesh in the field of online education. Also challenges faced by these governments are highlighted.