CHANGING HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES IN PURVIEW OF COVID-19 LOCKDOWN ON THE TEACHING AND NON-TEACHING STAFF ACROSS COLLEGES IN MUMBAI

Abstract: With more than 28 lakh people infected worldwide and 1.97 lakh dead, the COVID-19 pandemic shows no signs of abating. Educators and students around the world are feeling the extraordinary ripple effect of the novel Coronavirus as schools and colleges shut down amid the public health emergency. While temporary school closures as a result of health and other crises are not new, unfortunately, the global scale and speed of the current educational disruption are unparalleled and if prolonged, could threaten the right to education. A multi-pronged strategy is necessary to manage the crisis and build a resilient Indian education system in the long term. While health officials scramble to get a grip on multiple outbreaks, the education institutes of Mumbai have left no stones unturned in order to continue imparting quality education to the students. The present study was undertaken to find the changing Human Resource practices in the purview of COVID-19 Lockdown on the Teaching and Non-Teaching staff across Colleges in Mumbai.

Key words: COVID-19, Commerce colleges, Lockdown, Teaching & Non-teaching Staff.

Introduction

Modern technology is enabling professionals from the education sector to think out of the box, beyond the traditional classroom learning and explore the world of E-content and E-Learning by maximizing the use of online resources. E-content is a very powerful tool of education. E-content is valuable to the learners and also helpful to teachers of all individual instruction systems; E-content is the latest method of instruction that is used by professionals in the teaching sector. Education Teaching plays a vital role in the formal education system. In spite of established sound theories of teaching, it still continues to be a challenging task. Teaching-centre and group-oriented methods of instruction hardly provide for individual differences of the learners. E-learning is the new trend of education. The term covers a wide set of applications and processes, such as web-based learning, computer-based learning, virtual classrooms, and digital collaboration. Increased preservation, reduced learning time are other benefits to students.

As the days pass by with no immediate solution to stop the outbreak of COVID-19, school and university closures will not only have a short-term impact on the continuity of learning for more than 285 million young learners in India but also engender far-reaching economic and societal consequences. This has also impacted the smooth functioning of schools, colleges, and universities across the globe thus hampering the learning process and day-to-day functioning of teaching and non-teaching staff along with the students. However, modern-day technology has made it possible to work from home rather than solely relying on “only working from office” practice which is now a thing of the past. Needless to say, the pandemic has transformed the centuries-old, chalk–talk teaching model to one driven by technology. Hence this study was undertaken to find the changing Human Resource practices in the purview of COVID-19 Lockdown on the Teaching and NonTeaching staff across Colleges in Mumbai.

Literature Review

Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi assessed the novel Corona Virus’ impact on the Indian economy and the possibility of a second stimulus package to boost sectors hit hard by the pandemic. Several multilateral agencies, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, have drastically cut their India GDP growth forecasts for 2020-21 after economic activity in the country halted due to the spread of the Coronavirus. Currently, school closures in over a dozen countries due to the COVID-19 outbreak have disrupted the education of at least 290.5 million students worldwide, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. The National Policy on Education (1986) has emphasized the application of Educational Technology to Improve the Quality of Education at all levels. It has also laid special emphasis on using computers in the teaching-learning process. The rapid development in computer technology, together with the use of computers by teachers, paved the way for the introduction of computers in teaching and learning. With the advancement of technology, the computer has become more user friendly, so the teachers can attempt to develop E-content while working from home. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its global GDP growth estimate from 3.3% just 3 months ago to a contraction of 3%, something not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. IMF says India will remain the ‘fastest-growing major economy in 2020’. But one must remember that the COVID-19 onslaught is only at its initial phase. As the vaccine is yet to be found, lockdowns remain the only way to slow down its speed.

Objectives of the Study

1. To study the impact of lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic on the teaching and non-teaching staff of Commerce colleges across Mumbai, India.

2. To study the effectiveness of changing Human Resource practices in the purview of Work from Home experience with regards to teaching and non-teaching staff of Commerce colleges across Mumbai.

Research Methodology

The research method used was ‘Survey method’, under which the information would be secured concerning the subject of study from a selected number of respondents of the concerned Universe.

Problem Identification

It is a Need-based project. The research is done for finding out the impact of COVID-19 on the teaching and non-teaching staff of Commerce colleges across Mumbai and to study the effectiveness of changing HR practices in the purview of work from home experience.

Sample Size

The total sample size was 90.

Data Collection

Data collection was done through a self-prepared, structured questionnaire. The custom-designed questionnaire was sent across to the respondents with a request to answer the questions online and return the completely filled questionnaire.

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By:

Heer Amrish Jalundhwala Assistant Professor, Laxmichand Golwala College of Commerce and Economics, Ghatkopar (East), Mumbai, India Email: heerjalu29@gmail.com