An unfortunate wave of despondency has covered a large sector of IT industry lately due to abrupt job cuttings and terminations at a short (in some cases no) notice. People who were termed as an asset in previous year’s annual general meeting are now considered as a liability. This scenario is not limited to the IT sector, but a variety of industries, including agriculture, construction, energy, automotive, etc. It is not that the volume of work has decreased or the overall demand for labor has lessened, the reason behind it is much more startling.
‘Automation’ is a single word which can describe the aforementioned employment crisis the world is facing as of late. Machines started replacing manpower at the start of Industrialization era and masses learned to live with it. As machines got smaller, their aptitude grew larger than life and gave birth to Artificial Intelligence. A latest report from the International Bar Association states that 70% jobs of growing economies like India and Thailand are under threat and could be replaced by Artificial Intelligence. The numbers are truly harrowing!
From Accounting & book keeping to statistical & financial analysis, a wide array of human jobs have been replaced by softwares. But are there some jobs that can’t be replaced by a chip, software, or a robot for that matter? Yes, there are, and we happily inform you that teaching is one of them!
Quoting the Mckinsey Quarterly report – “The hardest activities to automate with currently available technologies are those that involve managing and developing people.” The report clearly mentions that Education Sector will be the ‘least’ affected sector as it involves three main un-automated works, which include expert decision making, strategic planning and creative problem solving. Teaching methodology has evolved massively in the recent times and classrooms have gone through a complete makeover in the last decade. New innovations like virtual classrooms, MOOCs and automated grading system have made their way to the education system, but the job of these technologies is not to replace teachers but to empower them! We have always provided our teachers with the best and up-to-the-minute technology so they can provide the finest quality education to our students. What we have noted since our inception is that technology has only helped both teachers and students in attaining their individual goals and we are glad that we have used technology to bridge the gap between a teacher and a student.
All the shiny gadgets and tools can replace a blackboard, chalk and duster in the classroom but it can’t replace a teacher coz teacher is not just an employee, a teacher is a mentor, a guide and a torch which enlightens the path of knowledge. Studies have shown that students respond to a living being way better than they do to software or a ‘voice’. The reason is simple, teaching is a process which requires personal involvement, otherwise it won’t be teaching, it will be just plain data feeding. Matter of fact is, no matter how advance the Artificial Intelligence becomes, it can’t substitute a teacher in the global education system.
