This petition against blended Education was initiated by the All India Forum to Save Public Education, an umbrella organisation comprised of student delegates from diverse organisations such as the Students’ Federation of India, Chhatra RJD, and JNUSU

Several students have objected to the University Grants Commission’s Blended Education, with the support of their union bodies (UGC). Students have begun to sign an online petition expressing their grievances and concerns, which will be forwarded to the honourable president, Mr. Ram Nath Kovind. The petition was started by a group made up of leaders from various student organisations, including the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Chhatra RJD, and JNUSU. The All India Forum to Save Public Education is the name of the organisation. The online petition is disseminated among students via numerous ways in order to garner as much support as possible.

According to the petition over the UGC’s blended form of education, it is wrong to push online learning to such an extent without any evidence that it is effective or not. It is apparent that online learning lowers the quality of education and will never be able to meet the learning standards established in classrooms. The UGC has only made educated guesses on the success of online classes. Most students in rural places or from low-income households do not have enough resources to manage online learning, which is still a hidden reality. The UGC’s new mode would merely exacerbate existing structural disparities.

Even if the hybrid method has any benefits for the system, it will prevent students from underprivileged communities from pursuing higher education. And this would be tantamount to robbing children of their fundamental right to an education, which they are entitled to regardless of their financial or social circumstances. An expert group created the UGC’s ‘Blended Mode of Learning’ concept to adopt continuous online education in universities and colleges in the face of the epidemic. Higher education institutes are permitted to complete 40% of any program’s course work online using this manner.

“We also ask the government to ensure that students applying for higher education face no discrimination as a result of the ongoing pandemic’s differential policy of board examinations and university specific exams,” the petition stated. “We hope the government will ensure that students, particularly those from marginalised communities, are not discouraged from pursuing higher education,” it added.

Teachers have also spoken out against the UGC’s decision. The All India Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisation (AIFUCTO) called the initiative “unacademic” and urged the commission to reverse its decision and have a “democratic discussion” with stakeholders to create a consensus on teaching and learning in higher education institutions. “Assistant human teachers and social robots will collaborate to create a co-bot environment in which co-learning will take place. Artificial intelligence is already a part of our life, thanks to Siri, Alexa, and chatbots. It’s only going to get worse. All of the things we used to think of as science fiction will become our new normal in the not-too-distant future,” Patwardhan predicted.

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