Education can be transformative if we use the systematic approach of digital transformation for online education. Creating online courses and serving online education is not a small task but with the help of Educators, Policy Makers and the Government of India, EdTech companies have built the bridge between them and started providing online education after the approval of the Government body. The development of online education has not happened, overnight but with the evolution of digital technology and the development of online courses through digitization through the transfer of digital data.

Under educational development, the Department of Higher Education planned a qualitative improvement in the area of Higher Education. And according to the University Grants Commission (UGC), a statutory body of the Government of India, by the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education, pursuing Undergraduate and Postgraduate degrees through online education and distance education, from UGC, DEB, and AICTE-recognized institutions would be treated as a conventional mode of education. And online degree courses gained a lot of prominence in recent years, due to flexibility and convenience. Students can study with the help of digital devices through the internet technology and this convenient format is most popular because it offers a lot of flexibility and convenience to the students. This is due to the ability to study from any place and at a fraction of the time and cost. It also helps a student in earning a coveted online degree without having to visit campus during the period of study. The Department of Higher Education has a greater Mission and Vision to the citizen of India to provide all possible opportunities for Higher Education to eligible students and improve the employability potential to its reach with the help of Online Education.

The Government Stand on Validity of Online Degree Courses

Today many accredited colleges and universities offer online degree courses all over the world. In India, the government has taken cognizance of the popularity of this mode of online education and distance education and allowed Indian universities to offer online degree courses to students. This is a greater initiative of education and it will help the students and working professionals to study from anywhere according to their preferred schedule. However, the government has mandated that only non-technical education and management courses should be imparted through this online or distance format. That means that degrees in fields like engineering, medical, chemical, electrical and medicine need a physical and practical presence that cannot be taken up online.

Not all Indian Universities will be allowed to offer such online degree courses, which means there is a limitation. Only those universities which are accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and rated A+ will be allowed to offer such courses. Other colleges or universities looking forward to offering online courses will be given a period of two years to achieve a NAAC ranking of A+ and also pedagogical knowledge is required for effective online education.

The General Opinion on Online Degree Courses

While there is no doubt that online degree courses can offer access to education to a vast majority of students who cannot travel to universities and colleges due to paucity of time and money. Now Universities and their courses offer a most effective alternative in comparison to the regular format of education and allow people to work and study at the same time with the help of online education. And another key element to choosing online education is its course design and development.

Following the 8 in-depth scientific approaches. While creating a degree course curriculum following the University's best practices under the guidelines of UGC and DEB that create a better impact on students (1) Job-oriented course curriculum (2) Deep Research of subjects & Development of courses (3) Following the case study and its implementation to courses (4) Use of holistic approach of content creation (5) Timely manner of revising content (6) Planning of content flow (7) Implementing the courses to content and content to a successful degree (8) Use of research data. This enhanced process and quality of content development make online education more adequate for learners.

However, there is some concern regarding the quality of the degree education imparted through these online programs. Many peoples, teachers, and students believe that it will compromise the regular concept of our education system without knowing the details. But, the government’s plan of allowing only the A+ rated and NAAC-accredited universities to offer this format of education will keep a check on the quality of these programs.

It will definitely help the country in improving its higher gross enrolment ratio (GER) in the field of higher education through online education and distance education. It will do so by bridging the gap from dropout to enrolment ratio by providing education to villagers or to remote areas of India, with access to degree education, otherwise, it is hard to achieve the educational goal for all. 

Below are the goal planned through Online Education by the Government of India - Department of Higher Education.

• Improvement of Gross Enrolment Ratio by expanding through online Education.
• Enhancement of GER of the national.
• To improve quality online education and to promote educational reforms.
• Capacity expansion and starting up new educational institutions and Universities.
• Use of Digital Technology in Higher Distance Education.