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NagaEd, an education technology company, is inviting parents and students to participate in a state-wide digital education experience survey at www.nagaed.com/survey.

In partnership with the Department of School Education (DoSE), NagaEd is working towards designing a digital education delivery model to provide students with access to quality educational resources.
A previous research undertaken by the NagaEd found that the key barriers to taking up digital education were behavioural, lack of contextual localized solutions and a rising digital divide.
NagaEd and the DoSE has called upon parents and students to participate in the State-wide digital education experience survey (www.nagaed.com/survey) to understand better the challenges parents and students have been facing during the pandemic.

Speaking on the importance of undertaking a State-wide digital education experience survey, Kevisato Sanyü, Founder of NagaEd said, “Another year of disrupted education is something our community cannot afford. Nagaland already has the highest rate of unemployment in the country at 21.4%. Many graduates already face significant barriers to gainful employment due to limited access to quality education resources.”

“Unless we can provide access to quality educational resources, this will only get worse. The COVID pandemic has forced us to adapt to digital education. By embracing the changing education environment, we have a real opportunity for Naga students to leapfrog into the 21st century. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity we cannot forego. The voices of students and parents of Nagaland must be heard if we are to seize this opportunity to benefit this generation and the next,” he stated.

Though students and teachers of Nagaland face numerous constraints in regards to accessing online education, C Shanavas, Principal Director, DoSE, opined that the present scenario in the country emphasizes that blended teaching-learning techniques needs to be adopted by all concerned without delay to keep in pace with the developments taking place in other parts of our country.

Multiple surveys are being conducted both online and offline by NagaEd and DoSE. In July last year, NagaEd conducted phone interviews with 22 schools and colleges to understand the current state of digital education. The interviews revealed several barriers for institutions, educators and parents to access digital solutions.
Speaking on the findings, Shiroi Shaiza, Co-Founder of NagaEd said while there are existing digital platforms in the market, there is resistance towards utilizing technology solutions due to limited knowledge, awareness and understanding of digital education.

“There are currently no solutions available that understand and cater to the local context and needs. Moreover, the poor network connectivity, lack of devices and varying socio-economic backgrounds are leading to a widening digital divide at an alarming rate. We need a unified effort of our citizens, the public and private sectors to come together to resolve this.” said Shaiza.

With the drastic changes in learning and teaching in Nagaland and across the globe due to the impact of the COVID-19, the survey hopes to learn the experiences of parents and teachers to better address the challenges that confront them.

The Department and NagaEd encouraged all students and parents to go to the survey and fill out the digital education survey by visiting www.nagaed.com/survey. Survey findings and analysis will be made available to the public on the website.