Acceptability and challenges of online higher education in the era of COVID-19: a study of students' perspective

Purpose Emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) forced the world-wide education system to adopt online mode immediately. There are two main objectives of the paper: the first one is to know the acceptability of online mode of examination and learning amongst students by analysing the various aspects like difficulty, mental pressure, study pattern, etc. and the second one is to know the role of gender in adopting online education. Design/methodology/approach An online survey is conducted amongst the students of Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun, India. Stratified sampling method has been used to select the students. First, a simple statistical analysis of the responses is conducted, and then chi-square test of independence has been used to know the dependency of various aspects on gender. Findings The two main findings of the present study are as follows: first, the online examinations were accepted with ease and low pressure in comparison to regular examination and second, the gender has a significant role in adopting online education with the observations that female students were more adoptable with online education in terms of assignments, study patterns and comfort. The present work also focuses on the challenges of online education like Internet connectivity, class interactions, etc. Research limitations/implications The present work was carried out during the initial time of pandemic in India when the focus was to continue the academic process by utilizing all the available resources in the absence of well-defined standards of online education. Practical implications The findings of the paper can be used for making strategies for online education across the world. Social implications The findings of the paper have shown that gender plays a significant role in adoptability of online education in Indian context. Originality/value The present work is conducted amid the environment of COVID-19. It reflects the analysis of students' responses towards the acceptability of online education under the difficult conditions developed due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdown.