Need for Digital Learning in Rural Areas: Special reference to Higher Education

Higher Education refers to the third stage of education which is mainly provided by college and university. In present times the process of higher education has added another dimension to it by using the medium of digital technology, which is helping to ensure access to higher education for all the people without the need of any physical framework beyond distance and time. Contemporary society is a society of digital revolution; the entire world is going through a process of digitization. In this digital era, the usefulness of digital teaching becomes manifolds and increases the chance to enhance the educational quality. Even today the condition of education in rural India is in a critical stage and condition of higher education is even more critical. According to the census of 2011, literacy rate of India is 74.04 percent while the enrollment rate in higher education is merely 26.3 percent. Many challenges which rural India is facing with regards to access of higher education can be tackled through use of digital learning facilities. Use of digital platforms and tools can also help in ensuring and enhancing the quality of the educational content that is being provided. Use of digital technology can also be useful in addressing the educational challenges of rural areas like lack of infrastructure, problems of funding, social taboos and the lack of awareness, educational institutes are often situated so far from the villages that it becomes difficult specially for the female learners to gain benefits of higher learning. In perspective of digital learning marshal McLuhan’s statement is notable, he says that “we shape our tools and afterwards tools shape us” digital learning can ensure universal access to learning opportunities and global access to education for all. This paper is based on secondary data and the main objective of this paper is to explore the need of digital technology in the field of education in rural areas, this paper will also attempt to analyze the status of higher education in perspective of digital learning.