Education is vital to the survival of mankind and ensuring that everyone on the planet gets educated should be one of the top priorities for world leaders. However, ensuring that everyone gets access to quality education is something that is easier said than done. Those living in rural or remote areas rarely have access to the same levels of education as compared to those living in urban areas. As such, MOOCs or Massive Open Online Courses that offer college level courses may be the answer.
In order to take a MOOC, all a student needs is network connectivity to download and access any course material. Thankfully, that should not be too much of a problem in a country like India. Indian telecom operators have covered a vast majority of the country with 4G connectivity. For example, earlier this year, Ookla reported that Airtel 4G was available in 90% of India. This coverage helps with ensuring a strong network for rural and urban students. Thereby, all the students in India should have a level playing field.
MOOCs do not discriminate on the basis of religion, caste, or gender. So everyone is free to study without being judged or victimised.This is especially helpful in rural areas where certain sections of the society may be a little hesitant to go to colleges or institutions for further learning due to the fear of being ostracised from their community.
Many MOOCs feature courses in partnership with notable universities and institutions. As such, they feature notable professors who teach students. This allows each and every student taking the course to get the same level of education, which in turn ensures that everyone is on an even footing when they go to the next stage of their lives.
Many people can be a little unsure of what courses they need to study in the future. MOOCs allow then to try their hand with a topic in a field they like, and then use that to understand if that field is suited to them, before deciding to go all in.
There are a number of institutions and platforms that offer MOOCs. These include the likes of Shaw Academy, Coursera, Udemy and more. The only thing that is needed is more awareness of the courses. In order to do its bit, Airtel is offering free courses on Shaw Academy as part of its #AirtelThanks program.
[Brand Story by Airtel]