Has the transition to digital education accelerated due to the pandemic?

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103 б.

Sohiba Mullaeva, Journalist

HAS THE TRANSITION TO DIGITAL EDUCATION ACCELERATED DUE TO

THE PANDEMIC?

S. Mullaeva

Abstract: The coronavirus pandemic has affected the education system

as well as all sectors: kindergartens, schools and higher education
institutions have been closed en masse. According to UNESCO, 1.7 billion
students worldwide today are deprived of offline education due to the
suspension of classes. The closure of universities in more than 100 countries
has left 90 percent of the world’s students sitting at home.

This is not the first time humanity has been exposed to the virus. Since

the creation of the world, mankind has faced various similar trials. Mankind
will fight against various calamities, overcome them, and start his life anew.
Life goes on like this. However, this time the catastrophe - the spread of the
coronal infection - has surpassed previous epidemics in terms of coverage,
reaching the level of a pandemic and claiming many lives, requiring serious
action.

Sixty percent of states all around the world has switched to an online

education system.

The People's Republic of China, a hotbed of the pandemic, closed all

schools and universities on March 26 and established online education from
February 17 to handle the situation. Teachers mainly communicate with
their students through the software Wechat. Then the Iranian government
has suspended the teaching process in kindergartens, schools and
universities in several regions.

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As of March 3, UNESCO had announced that 290.5 million pupils and

students had dropped out of school as a result of the temporary closure of
educational institutions in 13 countries, and called on countries to move
immediately to distance learning.

Italy, which currently leads the death toll, gave schools and universities

a holiday only after the death toll from the virus reached 100 in the country.
By this time, 22 countries in the three countries had already switched to
online education.

By March 13, the number of states that had discontinued offline

education had risen to 49, and three days later that number had risen to 73.
As a result, on March 20, it was announced that 70 percent of the world's
pupils and students had dropped out of school.

On March 26, educational institutions in New Zealand were also closed,

schools were given a two-week holiday, and universities a week off, and
distance learning was introduced as far as possible.

According to the data, today only 60 percent of the countries that have

closed educational institutions due to the pandemic have switched to full
digital education. While some international experts argue that the full
transition to online education should not be seen as a way out of a
problematic situation, otherwise the quality of education will decline, while
others acknowledge that a new era for modern education has begun. Some
state intellectuals, on the other hand, have raised the issue of supply in the
coverage of distance education. According to Internet sources, today in just
about a dozen countries, 95 percent of students have a computer. In
Indonesia, 34 percent of young people have access to the Internet. In other
countries, the figures are much lower. This can lead to a decline in the quality
of education, as some experts predict.

Were we ready to digitalization?
Foreseeing the impending danger in advance and correctly assessing its

consequences and aftermath will ensure a safe exit from the situation. In our
country, as there was the assumption that the pandemic would affect us, the
necessary measures had been taken for the educational process, just like the
economy, health care, and services. In particular, on March 17, the President
adopted a resolution "On measures for the widespread introduction of
digital technologies in Tashkent", which was meant for the gradual launch
of the "Kundalik" system in all secondary schools of the capital and the
formation of a database of more than 400 students on their knowledge
acquisition, and the introduction of e-services for parents was planned.

We first introduced the system "Kundalik" in November 2018 and

launched a pilot project in the secondary school No. 235 of Yunusabad
district of Tashkent, after which, to date, 521 educational institutions (303
schools in Tashkent) have gradually adopted the system and started their

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activities, - said Hilola Izzatova, head of the support service at the company
"Kundalik". - A system application for teachers has also been created, and
work is underway to improve the platform in a way that is convenient for
both pupils and parents. The system helps teachers save time and pay more
attention to pupils by eliminating paperwork, filling out multiple reports
manually, and so on. Pupils’ attendance is checked electronically through the
system without being recorded on paper.

Parents, on the other hand, can use the platform to discuss a variety of

topics with teachers, school principals, and other parents, as well as get
familiar with their children’s grades, homework, and participation in
classes.

To inform users about the duration of quarantine and how long the

distance learning would last, and to announce any kind of organizational
information, the section "Notes" should be used - said Hilola Izzatova. - It can
be used to create notices for the entire educational institution, as well as for
pupils in a particular class. Using the "Homework" function, the teacher can
assign group or individual assignments and monitor their progress. All
actions of the pupil and the educator are stored in the system. Parents will
also be able to see the homework assigned to their children.

In addition, this normative document sets up tasks such as introduction

of a single educational platform that allows the general public to use
electronic forms of textbooks, the creation of a system of management of the
educational process in higher education, a database of bachelor's and
master's degrees and an information system "Higher Education", tasks such
as improving the information system of preschool education management
integrated with the information systems of ministries and departments
were also assigned.

Also, taking into account the provision of information and

communication technologies, before the onset of the pandemic, officials of
the Ministry of Public Education and the National Television and Radio
Company of Uzbekistan began preparing video lessons. With the end of the
spring break, the school began to broadcast free video lessons in the form of
additional channels to all regions of the country through 4 TV channels. For
cable and IP TV subscribers, TV lessons are shown instead of other TV
channels. Video lessons are broadcast daily on "Eurosport", "National
Geography Wild", "Охота и рыбалка" from 8:30 to 16:00. This not only
ensures the safety of the population and prevents the spread of the virus,
but also serves to strengthen the relationship between parents and children
in the family. The reason is that tasks are given by teachers after the daily
lesson on the TV screen. The pupil is assisted by a parent in completing these
tasks. The next day, the teacher reads the homework answers, and they
check the assignments done together. In the afternoon, morning classes will

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42

be rebroadcast. Through this, pupils will have the opportunity to reinforce
by repeating topics they do not understand.

In online mode opportunities for higher education are expanding
From March 23 this year, the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Special

Education and the TV channel "Mening Yurtim" began to broadcast
television lessons for students. From Monday to Friday of the week, every
day from 10:30 to 12:00 there are TV lessons in English and psychology.

In addition, several universities are launching virtual education systems

for students and pupils. For example, the Tashkent University of Information
Technologies named after Muhammad al-Khwarizmi has 4 virtual education
systems for schoolchildren, academic lyceums and university students and
listeners who want to study in the field of ICT and Tashkent State University
of Uzbek Language and Literature named after Alisher Navoi has introduced
an information system "Organization and management of the educational
process" (e.navoiy-uni.uz) and a MOODLE distance learning platform
(moodle.navoiy-uni.uz). Within the framework of this platform, in the spring
semester of the 2019/2020 academic year, a database of tests in 30 subjects
has been formed to date to assess the knowledge of students through the
information system of online testing (test.navoiy-uni.uz). In the short term,
it is planned to form a database of tests in all disciplines and assess the level
of mastery of students in the disciplines through this system. The
educational process continues remotely through the Platonus e-learning
program (platonus.tfi.uz) posted on the website of the Tashkent Financial
Institute, telegram channels of the institute and its faculties, the institute's
MOLIYATV page on the YouTube channel.

At the National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek,

within the framework of the cooperation agreement of the Tajik National
University, an international online meeting of the Academic Council on the
specialty "Logic" was held, and doctoral dissertations of several candidates
were considered. Scientists from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Russia (Moscow
and St. Petersburg) took part in the meeting of the Scientific Council, which
was held by video conference.

In addition, prestigious private education centers in our country are

launching online education in line with modern requirements. This process
means that a new stage has begun in the Uzbek education system. The
reason is that to date, no education center has been able to pass such an
arrangement.

There is a saying among our people, "Every good has a bad, and every

bad has a good." If we unite in this difficult situation and take seriously the
measures taken by our government, the ongoing reforms will remain with
us as a success. Let’s not forget we have to stay home today to see these
bright days too!