Online education: A silver lining amidst challenges of pandemic in India

In a first and unique event of its kind, an achievement for Nagpur, researchers from the

Nagpur Multipurpose Social Service Society

(NMSSS) and the

Archdiocese of Nagpur

had the opportunity to present the effect of the Covid-19 on education in its institutions.

The study conducted by NMSSS was selected from intense international competition. The university communication of this honor read: “The Knowledge Without Boundaries™ Research Summit Call for Proposals saw a tremendous number of high-quality research papers and workshop proposals. We are happy to announce that your proposal, “Online Education: A Silver Lining Amidst the Challenges of the Pandemic in India” has been selected for presentation at the 2020 Knowledge Without Boundaries™ Research Summit. Congratulations!”

Indeed, the results from the study brought to the fore the triumph and positive attributes of our teachers and students to overcome the challenges and difficulties created by this unprecedented adversity.

Online education

is a stopgap solution, however an important one to ensure that there is lapse in the education received. The results of the study also revealed the increasing adeptness with technology by students to study, deliver presentations, and the tremendous resolve to indicate to the world, that they will do everything to ensure their education is not interrupted. The study was conducted by Rev. Fr. Balaraju Madanu, Director of NMSSS, Rev. Fr. Anthony D’Souza, former Principal of SFS College, Nagpur, and Dr.

Lionel de Souza

, formerly from Nagpur, now in the United States, and extensively involved in global philanthropy, management, education and marketing.

The formal recording of the presentation was on September 12, 2020, chaired and moderated by Rodney Luster, Ph.D., Senior Director of Research Strategy, Innovation, and Development, the University of Phoenix, USA. In attendance also was Dr. Srikanth Prabhu, Professor of Information Technology, from the Manipal Institute of Technology. The sharing of knowledge on a global stage bodes well for Nagpur to be at the forefront of quality education. The study will be published in the journal of the university and also in other peer-reviewed academic platforms.

NMSS is a social organization in Nagpur, the largest city in central India. Its outreach includes parts of the state of Maharashtra (MS) and Madhya Pradesh (MP) in India. The NMSS has taken the initiative to serve people with rations and strive to cater to the social and educational needs of 800 or so families of the poor in the region. The emergency relief work done by NMSSS commenced immediately upon the COVID -19 onset and continues. The NMSS reaches out, assists severely affected communities and has been engaged in emergency relief work since March 2020. The NMSSS is also engaged in creating awareness on safety measures, educates families on how to protect against the virus, and have provided sanitizers and masks to protect social workers and the community from the pandemic.