– Sumanta Datta, Managing Director, Oxford University Press (India)

“The Union Budget aptly sets the tone for strengthening of the education sector to become ready for a future that will clearly be dominated by digital technology. The Government’s focus on ramping up efforts in digital education and skill-building will provide much-needed thrust to the sector that plays a fundamental role in nation-building, and aid all stakeholders to achieve the goals outlined in the NEP 2020.

The future of education is the fading of physical barriers and hybrid (blended) forms of learning to thrive – a move away from one-size-fits all solutions, because there is no ‘correct answer’ in the debate of online and offline education. But for blended education to thrive, we need to address the infrastructure needs, otherwise we will quickly exit one era of inequality to another one. In a recent OUP report titled ‘Addressing the Deepening Digital Divide’, 56 per cent of the teachers believed that the lack of digital skills on the part of both learners and educators prevented their effective use of digital resources and acted as a barrier to learning. We at OUP are committed to investing in digital infrastructures and leveraging technology to make the highest quality of learning more accessible. Over the last one year alone, we have helped more than 100,000 teachers to adapt to online education through special trainings. There is a lot more to be done, and it’s only collectively that we can embrace the era of knowledge, innovation, and purposeful development.”