The New Education Horizon: Dr Dhrubajyoti Chattopadhyay

Prof. (Dr.) Dhrubajyoti Chattopadhyay, Vice Chancellor of Sister Nivedita University, takes an in-depth look into what is often meant by the New Education Horizon, arriving not only at its salient features and benefits to learners of the future, but also particularly emphasising the changing roles of the teacher in this perspective. While we celebrate Teachers’ Day in the 75th year of Independence, let us not forget our duty to the coming generations lies in being a beacon that points them in the right direction.

Education has now become interesting and more inclusive. With a host of Online platforms, education has been able to reach almost all strata of society and has given a certain level of flexibility to study at one’s own pace. Pedagogy has become more experimental in nature and has integrated the entrepreneurial mindset. We have shifted from a teacher-centric model to a student-centric model of education. The digital platform has given rise to online education and the youth have been witnessing a new form of interactive education - the interaction between machines and humans.

Education will be more research-driven in the near future. The research will include not only Pure Science but also Social Science and will extend to various newly evolved & Professional courses. The education sector would witness a considerable number of collaborations and partnerships. The industry-academia relationship would become stronger would enhance Educational diversity and foster many collaborative projects.

The role of teachers in this new educational landscape is quite instrumental. The Faculty members would need to work as mentors whose prime responsibility would be not only to guide the students but also to understand their aptitude and map their potential to the right domain. The education technology which integrates AI, VR, and Blockchain has already been successful in mapping the students’ understanding and their skill sets. The role of a Faculty member would be more of an analyst to analyse these student parameters and shape their talent in the right direction.

The world of Education is now not only a Universe but a Metaverse. This Metaverse aims to bring all types of learning formats under one roof and make it interdisciplinary. This idea has also given birth to anti-disciplinary subjects which were non-existent before. The Educational horizon is converging at an increasing rate and the gap between virtuality and reality is closing gradually. The Blended format of education, which is the optimum mix of Virtual and Real classrooms, is gaining momentum. This era of education has a tremendous opportunity for students as they can opt for any course with any combination and can have multiple entry and exit options from a particular course. This will give enormous freedom in studying and building up a career in the way a person wants. Entrepreneurial thinking is also accredited in the new horizon and will stand to buy some credits in the academic world. A person can study, start a new venture or join a job and come back to study any subject of his or her’ choice later.

Having said this, education will be a truly rewarding experience in terms of learning and gaining knowledge. Students can explore new domains of their choice and can also tag that along their course if they find it interesting. Jobs will be more dynamic in terms of on-the-job training and simulated scenarios, which the students will be able to map better, depending on their aptitude. Hence the New Horizon holds a lot of promise not only for students but for various stakeholders of the education sector.