Critical Study on Adoption of ELearning for Development of Human Resources in Developing Countries

Dr. Harman Preet Singh

Assistant Professor Department of Commerce PGDAV College University of Delhi

Introduction
Development of Human resources in developing countries is the key to success at all the fronts of the economy. The provision of quality adult education is vital for skill building and consequently, development of human resources. Developed countries can spend huge amount of money on adult education but developing countries need to devise low cost mechanisms to spread quality adult education. E-learning provides costeffective ways of education to improve quality of learning and reduce costs of training . This is important for developing countries as they face resource crunch. However, developed countries are also optimizing their economic resources by adopting e-learning.
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Status of E-Learning
In 2000-01, over half of all postsecondary institutions offered distance education. Among two-year public institutions, 90 percent offered distance education. Among public four-year institutions, 89 percent offered distance education as compared to 40 percent of private four-year institutions. Over 100,000 distance education courses are offered today. Online enrolments are growing at a rapid pace. The growth rate of online enrolments was 19.8 percent in 2003 and 24.8 percent in 2004. In a Sloan Consortium survey, 53.6 percent of institutions agreed that online education is critical to their long-term 3 strategy.

Implications of E-Learning
Information By permitting interactive multimedia, visualization and simulation models to assist students in learning skills (like building models or working in a virtual chemistry lab); People - Enabling networking of students, teachers and experts to go beyond the walls of classrooms; Services - Facilitating students admissions, registrations, examinations etc; and Technologies - Equips students as well as teachers with ICT based learning tools.
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SWOT Analysis of E-Learning Based Adult Education

Strength: Digital storage, processing and transmission of information Improved quality of teaching Improvement in educational standards Teacher-student ratio addressed

Contd..

Weakness Lack of availability of proper infrastructure facilities provided by Colleges, Universities etc Lack of basic computer facilities (like PCs, laptops) amongst teaching staff Lack of awareness of benefits of ICT based education Lack of awareness of upcoming technologies towards ICT education Lack of basic knowledge of computer application 6 amongst teachers

Opportunity
Attainment of global standard of education by implementing e-learning based adult education. Optimum utilization of limited educational resources can be achieved that may lead to national development. Improved educational standards may attract experts to guide students.

Threats
Lack of incentive for teachers for using elearning based adult education Disinterest of teachers in using e-learning based adult education may lead to deterioration of quality of teaching Lack of espousal of e-learning may lead to stagnation of certain disciplines
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Significant Practical Initiatives

United Nations Organization (UNO) has set the goal of universal primary education by 2015. The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) an intergovernmental agency of the 53-member Commonwealth of Nations is actively engaged in promoting the role of open and distance learning in meeting the U.N.O. Millennium Development Goals. COL sponsored the Lifelong Learning for Farmers Programme (LLFP) in Tamil Nadu. In this, IT kiosks are set up in remote areas of Tamil Nadu to respond to requests from the villagers about how to use farm better. The banks have started giving more loans on the promise of better productivity.

Significant Practical Initiatives

In India, Kerelaa Vadakkekara constituency has been declared as first e-learning constituency in Kerela. An e-learning project was launched in higher secondary and high schools. The Kerela government announced that all schools in Kerela would be connected through a statewide area network. ISRO launched EduSat, the worlds first satellite dedicated exclusively to education. It beams lectures to 10,000 classrooms in technical universities and primary schools across the country. These include the Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) in Karnataka, IGNOU, Anna University in Chennai, Technical Education Board in Rajasthan, West Bengal University of Technology in Kolkata, Manipur University in Imphal etc.

A Critical Assessment of E-Learning Based Adult Education

1990s drew to a close, decision makers at various levels were preoccupied with the technological and political imperatives of moving online, eliciting frenetic activity to supposedly deliver e-learning as quickly as possible. The role of EduSat satellite in promoting adult education in India is to be examined. As the satellite approaches midlife, it is difficult to say that EduSat vision has translated into qualitative change. In 2005, after the review of efficacy of the project by NIAS, found that the project was weak on technical, institutional, managerial, and academic grounds at the pilot stage and also a few months into the semi-operational phase. 73 percent of the students interviewed by NIAS had not attended EduSat programmes at all. The satellite interactive system, the key to the success of the programme, was often either ineffective or hardly ever used. The video and audio quality of the broadcasts was found to be deficient. This clearly shows the importance of democratic decentralization in planning and the importance of having a clear vision.

Conclusion
E-learning has revolutionized the field of adult education by creating unique digitized learning environment for students as well as teachers. The low-cost benefits are particularly significant for developing countries. At the same time, the mammoth growth of digital content poses certain inherent security risks. Metadata standards are being developed to hedge such risks. However, the initial euphoria is giving way to a more realistic thinking. The realistic roadmap to e-learning adoption must outline a clear and concise vision of e-learning adoption. The participative approach would address the diversity of stakeholders, build their confidence in the elearning system and would be flexible enough to take care of their unique needs. Such democratic decentralization would lead to the successful espousal of e-learning in the field of adult education.

THANK YOU!

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