31% teachers still not proficient in digital tools after 2 years of rapid digitisation: Report

MUMBAI: Even after two years of rapid digitisation, a report has revealed that around 31 percent of teachers are still not highly proficient with digital tools. A report by TeamLease ed-tech titled "Digital Transformation of the Teaching Community", noted that because of the sudden transition to online teaching, the majority of teachers (close to 79.34 per cent) learnt by practice or doing.

"It has been over two years since we witnessed a sudden, unplanned, overnight shift to digital learning. Back in September 2020, six months into the pandemic, when we did a survey for our study on the Use of Technology in Teaching and Learning in Indian Higher Education Institutes, more than 80 percent of the teachers were uncomfortable with online teaching," TeamLease ed-tech founder and CEO Shantanu Rooj said. He said, after two years, 30.58 per cent of teachers are yet to gain complete proficiency.

The report was done through a survey of over 1,000 teachers across India. Interestingly, the report also found that 90.08 percent of teachers foresee a use for the technical and pedagogical skills that they have acquired over the last two years. In fact, 66.94 per cent of them felt that these new skills have opened better career opportunities for them.

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"Digital learning is here to stay and with a continual increase in the integration of digital mechanisms with conventional learning, upskilling and reskilling the teaching community on a regular basis will be crucial. More and more Higher Education Institutes have realised the value of having formal training," TeamLease ed-tech co-founder and president Neeti Sharma said. Currently, 79.34 percent of teachers are undergoing some form of training conducted by the institutes or taking online or MOOC courses, she said.

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The report also found that there are challenges in the digital learning space. Over 75.04 percent of educators feel that students tend to lose interest during online classes and 44.63 percent of teachers feel that both students and teachers are still uncomfortable with digital integration. From an infrastructural point of view, 65.29 percent of teachers feel internet connectivity is a challenge and 50.41 percent of them feel that there is a shortage of dedicated laptops or smartphones with students, the report added.