Top trends that the education sector witnessed in 2021

Ever since the coronavirus came around, nothing has been the same. From grappling with the initial uncertainty of the pandemic to coming up with sustainable alternatives amidst social distancing and lockdown, a lot of changes were adopted. Out of these, the most prominent changes were witnessed in the education domain. These changes do not merely include shifting classes to an online platform, but also re-structuring syllabi in a manner conducive to the limitations of virtual learning. Along with this, several education trends also emerged. Here is a look back at how the pandemic impacted the education domain in 2021. 

Online courses  
The pandemic situation in 2020 mainly focussed on shifting education from classrooms to online platforms. However, with close familiarisation of online learning, 2021 witnessed a rapid growth in the variety of online courses available. Multiple platforms attempted at making use of this unique opportunity by integrating different aspects into learning such as gaming, art, etc. The wide array of online courses available allowed students to test the waters of subjects they would not necessarily have done in traditional schooling.  

Phased implementation of National Education Policy (NEP)  
A total change in the country’s education policy was announced by the government in 2020. A detailed explanation of this was also released which highlighted the new additions and alterations made to the existing policy. This plan was put into motion in 2021 in a phased manner and is still in progress, with emphasis given to a select cohort of higher educational institutions. Through this, new curricula were introduced with a fresh perspective on teaching and learning. 

Hybrid schooling 
Schools and other educational institutions across the country slowly started opening up again in the second half of 2021. The persistent pandemic situation gave parents and students the opportunity to choose between online learning and physical learning. This meant that students could attend the same class sitting at home as they would have in school. This option is unprecedented, and completely depends on the convenience of students and takes into consideration health and safety risks.