HTLS 2020: Covid is tragic but can help build home-based curriculum, says Ashish Dhawan
Ashish Dhawan said the Covid-19 pandemic caught the education off-guard but can be the catalyst to build a home-based curriculum.
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced teachers to reach out to parents of students which could pave the way for home-based curriculum, Ashish Dhawan is the Founder and Chairman of Central Square Foundation (CSF) and Ashoka University said Thursday.
“Covid has meant that most children will actually lose a year and they will fall behind so it is a tragic event as far as education is concerned. We couldn’t have planned for it because it is a once in a 100 years event,” he said at the Hindustan Time Leadership Summit.
“It reminds us that despite hype of technology the truth is children will always be going to school,” he said.
Dhawan said the pandemic has ensured better coordination between teachers and parents.
“Covid has forced teachers to reach out to parents. It is for the government to think of an omnichannel approach because not everybody has a smartphone… It has forced us to think if we have enough digital content in the vernacular,” he said.
Dhawan said the pandemic caught the education sector off-guard and has given rise of the idea of home-based curriculum.
“So this whole idea of home based curriculum that can I send something daily or twice a week videos for children to watch, activities for them to do, etc we were caught off-guard,” he said.
Dhawan who had worked for 20 years in the investment management business and ran one of India’s leading private equity funds, ChrysCapital, said technology can play a pivotal role to develop home-based curriculum.
“There is a silver lining. We have a better connect between teachers and parents. They now have engaged with parents much more than ever before. They have their numbers, WhatsApp. We can take advantage of this channel. I believe we can build a home-based tech-driven curriculum… We have a real opportunity here to send materials to parents for them to do with their children, for children to do practice, fun activities etc. Let’s not lose this opportunity. Let’s build on this to build a home-based curriculum,” he said.