Abstract From time immemorial, education has played a crucial and significant role in rolling out our best in the form of various betterments in terms of our perception towards our environment. In dearth of education it would not even possible to bind large societies with each other. Over the years the form of education has been changed from gurukuls to smart classes but it is evident that still all the different methodologies share the same very purpose to spread awareness among various societies. Education has paved the way to make ourselves contemporary with the time frame we have lived in. Technology has also played an impeccable role in meeting out the desired level of changes in our teaching patterns. It has compelled us to think to transform ourselves from conventional to contemporary education system. It has crafted a niche for those who have dreamt about achieving new heights. In current scenario more advance technological tools are included in our education system so as to it more effective. The efficacy of technology can be understood in the hard times of Covid -19 outbreak where whole world got stand still. The ongoing virus has put a threat on the masses to stay away from various day to day activities in which our schools, colleges ,institutes suffered a lot. In wake of its contagious nature it with hold various educational activities. During the span, the various technological platforms have been evident to continue the spirit of education to next level which not only helped in mitigating the problem caused due to virus but nurture the spirit of upcoming demandfor that easy way to the need for that education system is been realized to save the future of the students also comes at stake. The paper is an attempt to explore the various innovative practices adopted by educational institutions during the Covid-19 and their impact on education system. .

Online education has arisen as a need of time with the advent of the pandemic. Worldwide, educational establishments have been forced to implementVirtual Learning Environment (VLE) and to follow the online form of education. It is also imperative that the desire to use e-learning is determined by the student population in the current scenario. Also, the success of e-learning may get influenced by the facilitating condition. Hence, this research empirically explores the mediating role of facilitating condition toward usage intention of e-learning by student community. The model considers performance expectancy, effort expectancy and social influence as the key variables for e-learning adoption as identified in ELAM Model. The facilitating condition has been identified as a significant mediator that influences the interaction between these variables and the intention to use e-learning. This research focuses on learners who are engaged/enrolled in undergraduate courses. PLS Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to evaluate relationships and we find clear evidence of the mediating role of performance expectancy and effort expectancy on behavioural intentions.

The present study investigated predictors of awareness and attitude of university students towards Massive Open Online Courses. The study was conducted through descriptive method of research on a stratified random sample of 300 university students. The results of correlational analysis revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between awareness and attitude of university students towards massive open online courses (MOOCs) with academic motivation. Further, academic motivation emerged as a significant predictor of awareness and attitude of university students towards massive open online courses (MOOCs). Implications of the results are discussed in the context of higher education.

The recent pandemic has occurred as a black swan event in world history and ailed the way we have traditionally worked. Pandemic-led travel restrictions and shelter situations in place have forced everyone to shift their office to home, including taking home teaching and learning services. Amid the time of tremendous transition, professionals were working around their family schedules. The pre-existing wall between home and office was blown away, leaving behind the question of redefining work-life integration. Studies and shreds of evidence have earlier proved that several factors are responsible for maintaining its extent. But other than leaders' ability, it is also the capacity of individual brains to plug or unplug themselves to unleash their genuineness in maintaining optimum WLI level. As per the Harvard Business Review study, psychological and physical burned-out employees have cost an estimated $125 billion to 195 billion dollars in healthcare spending each year in the US alone. Studies by Gartner found that work-life integration is more important than health benefit to employees. However, the actual cost to an organisation can be even more in terms of low productivity, high turnover and loss of talented individuals. Through this study, we intend to test how far technology has blurred the Work-Life Integration and what boundaries need to be set by institutions, leaders, and individuals to maintain it.

Objective: Depression has become one of the most pressing global health problems. It substantially decreases quality of life and increases health-seeking behaviour, especially when left undiagnosed. The present review highlights the significance of different assessment tools used in studying depression. It also sought to identify the most reliable tool to screen depression among the undiagnosed general population. Methods:Research articles published in the last ten years were screened using electronic databases such as PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar. Results: Seven assessment tools, namely Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HRDS), Zung self-rating depression scale(ZSDS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale(CES-D), Patient Health Questionnaires 9 (PHQ-9), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), and Geriatric Depression Scale(GDS) were commonly used for screening depression worldwide. The HRDS, ZSDS, BDI, CES-D, and PHQ-9 are mainly used in detecting depression and its severity level. The GDS is designed to detect depression among the elder population (age 60 years and above), whereas DASS is commonly used to detect depression status, anxiety, and stress levels. In most of the research articles, PHQ-9 tool was employed for assessing depression. In general, it is applied in screening depression among healthcare workers, patients of different chronic diseases, and screening general population. Conclusion: The present review examines all the available assessment tools used for screening depressionin different population groups across the globe. Of the all-assessment tools, the PHQ-9 tool is comparatively a short tool for screening depression employed by most researchers. It could be used for epidemiological studies in screening and diagnosing depression among the general population.

Governance of higher education implies a redefinition of the role of the traditional state actors within higher education sector in a manner that facilitates higher educational institutions to excel. The traditional role of the state as a regulator and controller of higher education is redefined as that of coordinator and collaborator with other stakeholders. Governance provides an institutional framework for higher educational institutions to improve their administrative structures, processes and practices and help them to function independently with autonomy and accountability.The relationship between regulation and governance from Indian higher education context needs to be examined to understand the probability of change in the role played by regulatory agencies as facilitators of higher educational institutions. This article contends that Governance of higher education in India is devoid of an un-ambiguous institutional framework. It is argued that there are gaps between what governance implies and what is expected of regulatory agencies in terms of changes in regulatory policies, standards and practices to attain governance.

Teachers are usually apprehensive of apparently requested changes in education since they include a shift to a higher or lower level, innovative learning abilities, and running through for the creativity of everyday chores. This article examines the new education policy 2020 and its empirical examination, in which data on previous policies is thoroughly examined. It is a framework that aids in the development of competence in a specific area where instructors frequently experience worry.

During the raging COVID-19 pandemic, many workers were encouraged to WFH full-time, redefining the traditional definition of WFH, which had previously only been used for specific types of work, on an as-needed basis, or in unusual employee situations. Because employers have already invested the fixed cost of setting up remote work systems for their employees, many corporations expect that WFH will become more common after the pandemic. In the education sector Teachers have had to rethink their lesson plans to fit a totally different style as a result of the change to online education. The purpose of this study is to obtain information about the advantages and disadvantages of working from home during the pandemic COVID-19. The study attempts to find out the difference between teachers of government and private schools regarding their performance in relation to the impact of working from home, compare gender differences on teachers’ performance in respect to impact of working from home and the difference in terms of marital status of teachers in respect to impact of working from home.Therefore, the concerned null hypothesis is accepted. It is further observed from the table that mean scores of both the government and private respondents doesn’t differ much so teachers of both government and private schools are equally impacted by new normal condition of working from home. The study found no significant difference between the teachers of Government and private schools in relation to challenges of working from Home.Both the groups are equally impacted by new normal condition of working from home. The most common problem that hinders both the teachers of Government and Private schools is poor network connectivity. Most of the respondents of government schools face the problem regarding lack of interest among students towards online classes as they don’t give proper response towards assignments given to them and doesn’t return back on given time to teacher and many students don’t have smart phone and due to connectivity issues tends to low attendance

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about sudden, rapid, and unexpected disruptions in our social, economic, and psychological lives. As uncertainty builds, many are overcome with fear and anxiety, shifting to anger and sadness, and then back again. Feelings of stress are undeniable during these pressing times. The current study was carried out to investigate the perceived stress level of the youth of North East India during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period and also to explore the coping strategies adopted by the youth during the lockdown to combat stress and derive happiness from the limited available resources, by trying to engage in positive psychological practices. It was found that majority of the respondents had moderate level of stress. Results further revealed that gender and age have a significant effect on the stress scores of the participants.

The digital population is highly demanding flexible means to access and utilize open digital content for their purpose. The demand is high because open content is easy to access, utilize and reproduce than the printed sources according to the users need. The digital transmission of content is open to all and it is beneficial to mass users including students, academicians, professionals and content creators. The free sharing of knowledge through digital support always be useful to everyone without any restrictions. While without any restrictions free usage of digital content may create a conflict of questions regarding the safety and security of the digital content concerning its authenticity and objectivity. There might be a chance for exploitation of the creative thoughts and ideas. In such a case, the digital security is very essentials to safeguard the open content from being exploited. The creative commons is one of the digital initiatives organized to secure the open content with its flexible licensing strategies without any legal obligations. Creative Commons provides licenses for open content to secure the rights of content creators and users.

The concept of leadership has been a topic of scholarly and popular debate only since 1930s. Stereotypically, leadership has been associated with the masculine characteristics, because men have held the leadership positions for very long. The cultural construction of feminity around body and emotions, and of masculinity around disembodiment and rationality has made men the natural inhabitants of organizational life. Women, especially women of diverse identities have been largely ignored in the leadership studies conducted on leadership. It is a very recent phenomena that women, though small in number, have been able to break stereotypes by holding important leadership positions. Even though traditional notions of leadership are being challenged but the frameworks to challenge them are insufficient. They do not incorporate influence of diverse identities that profoundly shape experiences of women. Influence of race and ethnicity on perceptions of leadership is often overlooked, thus leading to exclusion of concerns and perspectives of women of color which can be best addressed by ‘intersectionality’ developed by feminist scholar and activist Kimberle Crenshaw.Thus, this paper presents an argument that Leadership, from a feminist perspective, should be “re-conceptualized” within “the intersectionality” of race, class and gender and additionally, we argue that caste, religion and cultural identity “intersect” in social production of privileges and disadvantages.

Education is no longer an item reserved for the rich. Be it constitutionally or ethically, Education in India is a birth right of every Indian child. Education cannot stop at any stage under any situation.The Covid – 19 pandemics has engulfed the world for more than a year and making traditional, offline classes impossible without risking the health of both students and their educators, ranging across nursery schools to PhD candidates. At such a time, Digital Learning or E-learning has become the saviour, providing a unique opportunity to continue education without putting anyone at risk of getting infected. Despite the unique advantages digital learning brings, it also has its own set of challenges, especially in the Indian context. Due to problems related to infrastructure and implementation, and chronic issues which have existed even duringpre-covidtimes i.e. poverty, poorelectrical infrastructure, and poor digital proficiency both among teachers and students, adaptation of digital education has created a huge problemnationwide with its implementation and usage. Experts are terming this as “The Digital Divide”. This paper looks intothis in a detailed manner into this implementation challenges of digital learning in India across both the micro and macro levels. These challenges, some basic and others more complex, if not addressed very soon, has the potential to create ainvisible divide in the society in years to come that would change education as we know it, and make it nearly inaccessible for the poor.

Discovery Learning takes place in problem solving situations where the learner draws on his/her own experience & prior knowledge & is a method of instruction through which students interact with their environment by exploring & manipulating objects wrestling with questions& controversies or performing experiments. Learning by linking material with the real situation of the surrounding environment will be more meaningful and students will experience a firsthand. The scientific process in learning will be much better if students make direct discoveries in the surrounding environment or outdoors to get the concepts learned. Discovery Learning aimed to improve scientific thinking skills & learning outcomes emphasizes on discovery & focuses on developing students’ ability to solve problems that are in accordance with the development of the present situations. Discovery learning is required discovery mental process i.e. observing, measuring, classifying, suspect, explaining & making decisions. Implementation of discovery learning methods allows the students more active, creative and innovative in finding and solving problems. It assumes that learners take an active role and construct their own knowledge base. Learning discovery, making children can learn too think analysis and try to solve their own problems encountered.

Teachers are using different types of teaching and learning aids, methods and models to enhance the learning of students. A model is a representation of an idea, events and process. Teaching models lay down various steps and procedures to effectively generate required outcomes. Every emerging new model explores a new approach. Most essentially, every model of teaching should optimize learning experiences and outcomes to the needs of each learner.Inthe recent times social constructivism emerges as a prominent teaching- learning theory. Social constructivism maintains that human development is socially situated and knowledge is constructed through interaction with others. It is a socio-psychological theory of knowledge that applies the general philosophical constructivism into the social. The paper an attempt to develop a social constructivist model based on the assumptions underlying in Vygotsky social constructivism and discuss its relevance in teaching learning,

National Education Policy 2020 is the milestone in the education sector of post-independent India. The policy came into force during the global pandemic of Covid-19, although the first an subsequent draft came much before this pandemic, with a new approach to educational practices with the digital revolution are widely used in the educational institutions at large. The digital revolution in education sector during the last decade and especially during and after the Covid-19 period has changed the instructional transaction strategy in a much effective way. There are some negative aspects of digitalization in education in general and teacher education in particular too, especially among the students of marginalized sections of the society or moreover among the digitally less competent students from rural and semi-urban areas. The paper here made an attempt to critically analyze and describe the implementation plan of National Education Policy 2020. It also highlights the teacher education sector and its implementation strategy in particular. Besides, the author’s own critical observations and readings are also reflected in the coming sections which are represented with different sub-sectors, such as teacher professionalism, digital revolution, research orientation, financial assistance schemes, long-duration teacher education programmes, multidisciplinary approaches, etc.

The higher education in India seeks total transformation to meet the standards posed by world university rankings, NAAC accreditation and established ability of traditional knowledge systems to rejuvenate the system. India has been blessed with an ambient knowledge system since times past which endowed it the title of ‘vishvaguru’ till the medieval period. This knowledge repository contains countless components which can revitalize contemporary higher education. This study has been conducted with specific objectives of anticipating challenge of acknowledgement, resumption and application of the vast heritage of ancient Indian scholarship, wisdom and dexterity as well as to recommend an action-plan for rejuvenation of higher education by integrating Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS)in the light of NEP 2020. A purposive sample was drawn from the top level officials who had the expertise in their domain like science, arts, language, etc. With the help of structured interview questionnaire, a panel discussion with the selected participants was organized on WebEx online platform. Findings of the penal discussion revealed that the Indian language particularly Sanskrit may be used as a tool to sustain the culture and heritage of India. It has also been found that Indian traditional health system should be introduced in the education system. It has also been concluded that autonomy of educational institutions will certainly empower them to include ancient culture and tradition in the curriculum.

Due to the outbreak of the virus all the educational institutions were shut down, where classes and syllabi are stranded, examinations and other activities being postponed. This outbreak of Covid-19 has impacted almost 70% of the world’s student population (UNESCO). Today owing to the closures of educational institutions many have adopted technology in teaching-learning model. The shifting of conventional mode to virtual mode is the only alternative way to cope up with the ongoing situations and to keep continuing the learning process. Going digital means a fine gadget like smart phone, laptop/computer with high-speed internet connection is essential and many of the students may not be accessible especially from backward areas. At the hour of pandemic, students have faced a big challenge of proving themselves for their next journey. Many students experiencing mental stress and anxiety, with a barrier; living with negativism towards their career, which is a detrimental environment for them. During the hour of pandemic, it is very important to address the issues and challenges faced by the prospective students. Therefore, this paper assesses the impact of Covid-19 on students online learning and mental health. The survey was conducted online from the students enrolled in higher educational institutions of Assam. Major findings were: 57.71% respondents report of going through mental stress, 60.28% stated of concern for their career and health and 82.24% opined Covid-19 pandemic has affected their studies. Poor connectivity and technical issues were a great challenge for the students and they were not convenient with the online learning mode.

Teacher Evaluation is an essential component in education. Through evaluation, educationalist can identify what has been achieved, what needs to be improved and what should be developed. Educational evaluation can be applied to several areas, such as curricula, students, parents, teachers and schools/colleges in general. The purpose of this study will be to focuses on different method of evaluation system for teacher’s performance.

The central objective of the study is to explore how to trace ICT in Teacher Education effectively to strengthen the Discipline in India. The specific objectives are, (i) to elaborate the present status of ICT in education, (ii) to elaborate how is the place of ICT in Teacher Education in India, and then (iii) to suggest logically how to trace ICT in Teacher Education in India to strengthen the Discipline.First the researcherreviewed all the available resources to sketch the present status of ICT in Education, then he reviewed all the available resources to elaborate the place of ICT in Teacher Education in India, then he logically developedthe suggestions on how to trace ICT in Teacher Education in India. It has been got that although the utilization of ICT in education system in India is moderate, but the utilization of advanced and world class ICTs is weak in Teacher Education. Teacher Education should grow and develop along with higher education with multidisciplinary and integrated feature for its quality along with ICT. Grants system and financial support to all the Teacher Education Institutions including government and privateshouldbe provided;and scholarships andfellowshipsshould be available forall the student-teachers.Triangulated inspection and supervision should be launchedfor monitoring the Teacher Education Institutions.Different e-platforms available should be strengthened and utilized,few programmes on SWAYAM or on such advanced platform/s can be compulsory for the student-teachers as well as for the faculties, and the blended mode should be encouraged for the Teacher Education Programmes as well as for the Faculty Development Programmes.

‘Education’ imparts knowledge and knowledge of self identity gives inner strength and creates sense of justice. This process is very essential for human life to attain freedom from exploitation and poverty. Education is an integral part of culture and without this, the social heritage of one generation cannot be transmitted to another. However, suddenly in the second week of March, there arose a stumbling block in the pave of education due to the announcement of a countrywide schools and colleges closure as an immediate preventive step to contain the spread of the new corona virus. This impact of COVID-19 crisis on education sector has been noteworthy with the disruption of academic schedules at schools and higher education institutions due to suspension of classes over a prolonged period declared by the union government on 16th March’20. With a continuous 4th phase of lock-down of schools and colleges there is no certainty when they will be reopened. The Corona virus has not only impacted students, teachers, and families, but it has also exacerbated a number of social and economic issues, including student debt, digital learning, food insecurity, and homelessness, as well as access to childcare, health care, housing, the internet, and disability services. New experiences in the access to education from home are important to maintain continuity of student learning in schools and universities by online teaching methods. This research paper illustrates how digital learning is becoming a crucial educational resource and promoting large-scale participation, providing integrated e-learning solutions and addressing the digital divide between government school students and students in private schools. Therefore, this research is trying to focus on the challenges of e-learning by enabling teachers and students from marginalized and poor economic background to create meaningful (virtual) experiences to facilitate this remote learning resource for students while schools and colleges are closed.

The National Repository of Open Educational Resources (NROER) is an initiative of Ministry of Education (MoE), Govt. of India and Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET), National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to bring together all digital and digitisable resources across all stages of school education and teacher education with the spirit of ‘connecting knowledge - connecting people’. NROER is a digital repository for open educational resources and its policy goals discussion about creating an environment for collaboration, cooperation, sharing and promoting universal, equitable, open and free access to ICT. Openness is the unique features of the repository.It is the free availability of resources over the Internet and recurrence of as few as possible restrictions, in the form of licensing activity, on the use of resource. The repository houses a wide range of educational content and resources covering all subjects and all grades for school students, teachers and other stakeholders. The resources are available in the form of concept maps, videos, multimedia, interactive objects, audio clips, talking books, photographs, diagrams and charts, articles, lesson plans and textbook pages etc. In addition to the educational resources available in multiple languages as proposed by NEP 2020, the NROER also provide opportunities to users to participate in online activities or events.

This study investigated the effect of Problem Based Learning (PBL), a constructivist teaching strategy, on Achievement in Physics and Attitude towards Physics. The study was Quasi-experimental with a pre-test post-test control group design. The sample for the study was 115 11th class students of the Government School of Chandigarh. The two sections were randomly selected as experimental and control groups. In this study, Teaching method (PBL and LBL) as the independent variable and gain scores in Achievement in Physics and gain scores in Attitude towards Physics as dependent variables. MANOVA and ANOVA with pair-wise comparison were used as statistical techniques to analyze data quantitatively. The experimental results indicated that PBL group students outperformed LBL (Lecture Based Learning) group students on both Achievement in physics and attitude towards physics in combination and separately. Students' reflections of the PBL group were taken, followed by the intervention. This paper also comprises implications of the study, limitations, and recommendations for future research.

Many of reports make it evident that persons with disabilities are lagging in education despite of many interventions. Recently, Government of India has released the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) with commitment towards equitable and inclusive education for persons with disabilities. The policy also finds much synergy with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and to make system enabled to promote full participation of children with disabilities in the regular schooling process from the Pre-Primary Stage to higher education. The country progressively adopted legislations and policies as backbone for implementing or ensuring empowerment of persons with disabilities. At the same time, much work still needs to be done for education of persons with disabilities. The full inclusion is possible only after the cohesion and collaboration within the sector and among the different sectors. Therefore, for equitable and inclusive education, the whole community need to make efforts to strengthen the complete ecosystem.

Internet usage has reached to such extent that it has reduced our world into a “global village”. Research has shown that there is a strong association between internet use and adjustment. Over use of internet affects the interpersonal relationships by preventing face to face interaction between users. As such people who have trouble in developing social relations in real life tend to show loneliness as one of their primary traits. Students who suffer from depression, fear social isolation and are in great need of acceptance show very high attachment to internet for overcoming their difficulties of interpersonal relations and adjustment in real life. Colleges and universities all over the world advocate the use of internet to enhance teaching and learning inside or outside the classroom. Internet use in controlled manner and for the right purpose is beneficial to the students as it aids in research, seeking knowledge, enhancement of soft skills, exchanging of experience and knowledge with international students and other parties. In this study, the researchers have worked upon a sample of 12 college students from different government aided colleges in Darjeeling district in West Bengal to identify about internet use and its influence on adjustment and academic achievement among these students.

Dr. Ambedkar had envisioned an educated and equal society that has a place for all irrespective of race, class, caste, colour or creed. He strongly believed that educational backwardness perpetuates people’s sufferings and farsighted education as a tool for the emancipation of people bound in shackles imposed by the unequal society. A discrimination-free society, in his opinion, was accomplishable through making extraordinary constitutional provisions to provide equal opportunities and bring the marginalized sections at par with others. Dr. Ambedkar made remarkable efforts in ensuring fundamental rights as justiciable ones, directive principles for policy formulation by the government and duties encumbent upon the citizens. His speeches, letters, and other writings were reflective of his standpoint concerning education. In most of them, he had given special regard to education and considered it pivotal in the upliftment of people who had long-standing sufferings in the past along with securing equal access for all. A prominent feature in the Constitution of India was inserted with the enactment of the Right to Education. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 owes its existence to the visionary mind of Dr. Ambedkar who drew inspiration from diversified sources and elaborated them in his different works to realize the goal of an empowered and educated India. This paper attempts to explore the roots of Dr. Ambedkar’s vision that shaped his evolving understanding of the educational scenario India must strive to achieve in order to deal with hassle-free access to education upto elementary levels across country.