Remote Learning and Its Effect on the Public Schools vs Private Schools Debate

Remote learning, also referred to as online learning or distance education, is a mode of learning where educators deliver educational content and instruction to students in different learning environments. Consequently, it is a mode of learning that intensively incorporates technology. Remote learning has recently gained popularity, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Distance education takes different formats, including synchronous learning, where students and educators interact in live virtual classes, and asynchronous learning, where students record lectures and learning instructions. The COVID-19 pandemic led to school closures, constituting the remoting of education. Hence, remote learning became the mode of learning for private and public institutions, which significantly affected students from public schools and private schools distinctly.

Firstly, parental involvement and students’ participation in distance education became significant challenges among teachers facilitating the learning process. Most public school student parents lacked access to technological devices and the internet to implement remote learning effectively. Lack of parental involvement led to low student participation in remote instruction. Following this, remote learning promoted inequitable access to resources, such as digital tools and internet services, which widened educational gaps. Most students in private schools were from households with high socioeconomic status, while those in public institutions come from low socioeconomic status backgrounds. Hence, students from private schools had high privileges to access digital tools and internet services compared to their peers from public schools. Notably, Pattnaik et al. (2023) depict that Indian parents preferred private education for their students over public education for the primary education system.

Notably, the quality of remote learning and instruction remains a significant issue between students from private and public schools, as considerable disparities exist in home-based learning among high and low-socioeconomic students. Pattnaik et al.(2023) outline that remote learning greatly impacts the quality of education. Further, the pedagogical strategies employed in online learning significantly contribute to low-quality learning outcomes, as remote learning does not use differentiated instruction to support a conducive learning environment where learners’ educational needs are addressed. Moreover, students felt uncomfortable interacting with their teachers online as it was still a new concept, hampering the quality of virtual learning.

Consistently, remote learning exacerbated educational gaps due to educators’ preparedness to integrate remote instructions. Private institutions supported remote learning through training and equipping the teachers with effective skills, enhancing the smooth transition process for online education. On the contrary, the public teachers underwent an abrupt learning process on teaching methods to integrate online learning, subjecting them to challenges in the transition process. Furthermore, parents from households with low socioeconomic status are committed to long working hours, limiting time availability to guide their children in online classes. On the other hand, private school students’ parents mostly work from their homes, providing their children with guidance through online activities.

In summation, the effects of remote learning on public vs. private schools remain a complex issue of debate. Distance learning is more advantageous for pupils attending private schools due to accessibility to resources and digital tools, while students from public schools remain vulnerable to the quality of remote instructions due to teachers’ preparedness and inaccessibility to effective tools and resources for integrating this mode of learning. The pandemic provided insights into the essence of technology investment, especially in public schools, to enhance all students’ education quality when learning remotely or in the traditional classroom setting.

References

Pattnaik, J., Nath, N., & Nath, S. (2023). Challenges to remote instruction during the pandemic: A qualitative study with primary grade teachers in India. Early Childhood Education Journal, 51(4), 675-684. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-022-01331-4

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