Flipped Side Of E-Learning Amid Covid Outbreak In India: A Survey-Based Study

Background: Covidvirus emerged from China in the end of December 2019 and crippled the whole world immediately. To curb the spread of this virus, complete lockdown in India was implemented by the government. Though it helped in slowing the chain of infection but economical and educational sectors got inflicted severely due to this lockdown. Traditional method of teaching had to switch from offline learning to e-learning. Though it is 21st century and people are supposed to go hand in hand with technology, still majority of Indian students is not friendly with the advanced means of learning. Consequently, Indian students faced several issues related to e-learning programs amidst pandemic. Objectives: To find out the flipped side of e-learning faced by Indian students. Methods: One hundred and sixty-eight students (n=168) from high school to higher education were approached through snowball sampling method. A self constructed questionnaire was designed for this study to assess the issues caused by e-learning during covid pandemic. Results: Findings reveal that purchasing gadgets and internet services for attending e-learning programs are financial burden for most of the students. Technical issues produce problems in attending e-learning programs. Students stated that e-learning does not help them in study as effectively as offline learning. They also faced psychical and psychological problems due to attending e-learning programs for prolonged period. Overall findings show that students preferred offline learning over e-learning programs. Conclusion: E-learning has provided students an opportunity to learn in the pandemic but they have been dealing with several financial and health related issues. Silver linings were reported in the propagation of e-learning but it was not as flourishing as offline teachings.