Efficacy of Online Education during nCOVID- 19 pandemic lockdown among Medical and Allied Health Students in India
Abstract The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused sensation and fear among the world population. World Health Organization (WHO) announced the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic on the 11th of March 2020 and India was one of the first countries to initiate the national pandemic lockdown. The teaching and learning process has been greatly impacted by this decisive step taken by the Government of India. Thereafter many institutes in India have adopted the online mode for the continuation of the teaching-learning process. A standard questionnaire was prepared and circulated among all participants within India via the online platform. A total of 1042 participants submitted their responses out of which 53% were females and 47% were males. 77% of students stated that they have attended online classes conducted by their respective educational institutes. The majority of the students were very much interested in online education (via Google platform, Zoom, etc.) but the practical knowledge was not adequate. Online education can be a good method of learning and improving the overall academic progress but it might not be as effective as a traditional education system for improving the practical aspect of learning in the case of the Medical and Allied Health students during the lockdown.