New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI) Internet and mobile companies' body IAMAI on Wednesday urged the government to formalise online education and subsidise fees for the underprivileged by 15-20 per cent for basic or essential e-learning services.

The industry body, whose members include education technology firms like Coursera, Vedantu, Udacity and PluralSight, said the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) guidelines on online remote proctored assessments must be amended to facilitate assessments via credible platforms for all forms of online and digital distance learning programmes.

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Since the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, most of the schools and colleges have started online classes. While some state governments have opened up schools for teachers, many continue to operate the entire process online.

"With access and affordability being a major deterrent for poor students, firstly, IAMAI has suggested cheaper hardware/connectivity or use of common service centres (CSC) that will largely address the issue of access and affordability," the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) said in a statement.

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There are around 3 lakh CSCs operational across the country that provide e-governance service to people in small towns and rural areas.

CSC e-Governance Services India , which manages CSCs, has also started opening pre-schools across India.

The industry body, in a submission to the MHRD, said India has one of the largest base of internet users in the world. However, a digital divide exists between urban and rural users which needs to be addressed on priority basis.

"IAMAI has suggested subsidisation of fees, say 15-20 per cent, for certain categories of basic and essential e-learning for the underprivileged sections of the society so that they can upskill themselves," it said.

According to IAMAI, there is a need to prioritise manufacturing and distribution of IT and communications hardware essential for providing education and prioritise access for children, teachers, schools and ed-tech firms engaged in distance learning.

It further said all boards and universities must be empowered to offer courses online, offline or in hybrid mode, with equal status of the degree or certificate earned through such courses.

"India has thousands of colleges and universities, but a very few have the infrastructure or resources to accommodate a 50 percent increase in students over the next 10-15 years. With scarce financial resources, to build new facilities or open new universities, enrolling students online is the logical solution to boost capacity," IAMAI added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)