International pundits have long stressed the importance of e-learning to stay abreast of developments in scientific, medical and economic fields amid the lingering challenges posed by the pandemic.
The persistence of variants complicates prospects for a mass return to conventional learning methods and education in general.
Today, the world is going through a new wave of Covid infections that has affected thousands of people and caused widespread business disruption, while impacting postgraduate university education as well.
The sole exception is e-education. In this context, major international universities are now taking the ‘distance e—learning’ approach by enabling access to course material and lessons through e-books, with teachers on hand to support the needs of anyone eager for this type of education. This approach is also being applied to primary school children to support their educational growth.
This transition to e-learning has been emphasized by Moroccan thinker Professor Idriss Ohlal in his recent book, titled ‘The Big Bang… The Age of Ends’, where he explore the intersection between the future of education and other issues that concern people in light of the transformations under way in the world, and the conflicts that erupt in many areas of science, culture and economic life.
These issues require people and governments to help children adapt to new learning tools and not to restrict themselves to the traditional learning model. The writer believes that any kind of regular governmental and private university education that extends for five years and more is a flawed model. Instead, one can learn from home and obtain the certification and experience in a relatively short period of time and at a lower cost.
The writer also believes that it is important not to waste one’s life in flawed university education, at a time when one can obtain the requisite knowledge and skills within a shorter timeframe via a global digital platform, besides choosing study materials that suit their needs and in the language they understand.
Today, employers look at the competencies and skills of a candidate and not their certificates.
This led former US President Donald Trump in June 2020 to issue a decision for the federal government to hire applicants with abilities and skills instead of academic certificates.
We in Arab and Islamic countries are in dire need of dealing with new technologies in the field of distance education or in our work with government institutions. People’s interests in the current era need to keep pace with developments in their field of work. In the opinion of the writer, this does not mean that we abandon traditional educational values, but rather we continue efforts to keep pace with technological developments, especially in the educational field for children This will ensure that the current generation and owners of small and medium enterprises are better equipped with achieve their career and professional aspirations.
