A STUDY ON SELECT COLLEGES IN KERALA

        The COVID -19 pandemic situation brought about drastic change in the education system and it  gave rise to online learning method .Corona virus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.The first case of the COVID – 19 pandemic in Kerala was first confirmed in Thrissur district on 30 January 2020.According to the survey  based on the impact of COVID in the learning experience of college students in Kerala, many students are not able to adapt to the new mode of studying ;through virtual classroom.

            The COVID-19 pandemic is a great  challenge to the  educational system . As a part social distancing students are unable to go to colleges and the institutions adopted online learning measure. Due to the shift from traditional method of studying to  digital mode , many students lack proper facilities to attend the online classes.According to the online survey  conducted among  students in Kerala ,it is observed that students  face regular problems while they accessing study  materials such as; 36% of the students face connectivity problems,32% of students have  unfavourable home environment,24% of them suffers from stress due to the inability to access materials through online and 8% have insufficient data problems.These issues prevent/ students from  concentrating on their studies and gave them more stress. It is not always about  technology ; majority of students have physical problems too .Around 68% of students have physical problems like: headache,bad posture and eye strain due to the e-learning  method  on the otherhand   24% of students have no health issues.

           In Thrissur district, around  92% of  students access their study materials through mobile phone and only  4%  of the students uses laptop and desktop computer.It was great challenge for  students who are not financially sound to cope up with this unforseen pandemic.Lack of support from Government and society even  caused some students to commit suicide.Therefore this method made some students more vulnerable.  The excessive use  of technology also made students more  lazy and also it tempted them to use another social medias.It is assumed that only  28% of students are studying on a daily basis while 24% of them are not .The duration of live classes varies from different colleges such as ; 1-5 hours, 6-10 hours and 10-15 hours in a week.E-learning also brought about changes in the pattern and mode of examinations.Majority of the students prefers written exams than online exam,because they  feel more stress while attending  exams in virtual mode on the otherhand some students are comfortable in this method.

           Another challenge for  students are sustaining interactions with teachers in the digital platform,due to noise disturbance in the amplitude of modulation. Although online learning method benefited college students in a certain way , recorded classes are useful them to clear their doubts and they can access it in anytime.Recorded classes is also beneficial for students who have connectivity issues while attending live classes. Around 64% of the students disagrees to the statement that; online learning is better than offline ,while 20%  of them agrees with it and 16% took a neutral stand in this statement. Peer pressure induced learning is more via e-learning than offline.

        The survey provided  that, majority of the students are discontended  in the online learning method and they prefers to re-open colleges by  following COVID  safety protocols.Digital education also  brought about change in the learning routine of students to a great extent.One  of the major consequence  of this pandemic is that,it is an obstacle for providing quality education to college students.Although digital education appears to be viable solution in this current situation ,it fails to ensure a healthy atmosphere for learning.