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We are aware of how the Government of India is highlighting and focusing on the goal of developing a digitally progressive nation. In the case of education sector, the nation has recently witnessed a sudden transition from traditional classroom based teaching to online learning platform due to travel restrictions and COVID-19 protocols. Due to this reason, it took some time for the teachers and students to deal with the education related situation. During this time period many researchers not only in India but globally tried to study the merits and demerits of online education through empirical surveys and experimentation. Numerous research results show mixed opinions about the satisfaction associated with online learning. Perception and satisfaction are dependent on various controllable and non-controllable factors. However, the condition of problems associated with online teaching of functional subjects like music emerged as a major concern. Now the focus of the new National Education Policy 2020 is on promoting digital education further. Hence this research work is an attempt to study the concept of online education among students belonging to higher education in music subject on the basis of several parameters. With the help of results and suggestions, implementers can effectively plan music education in which case online learning should be implemented entirely, in hybrid mode or avoided altogether.

1. To find out the perception of online education among music students of higher education. 2. To examine the satisfaction level of online education as compared to offline education among music students of higher education 3. To provide possible suggestions on the basis of the response outcomes

Arora et al. (2020) conducted a survey to determine the factors affecting digital education as per the students after COVID 19 pandemic. Three crucial elements- affordability, infrastructure, and training were considered. On the basis of survey, Shen and Liu (2022) concluded that users' desire to use online education platforms is determined by their perceptions of their usefulness, satisfaction, perceived switching cost is a major factor in raising user resistance. Also, online education platforms must constantly improve themselves utilising operational, price, and development techniques in order to increase user willingness and achieve high user satisfaction. Through the use of structural equation modelling, Drennan et al. (2005) examined that good attitudes toward technology and an autonomous learning style have an impact on student satisfaction for online classes. If students believe using digital learning is straightforward and beneficial, their acceptance of it will rise. This would further affect their attitude toward digital learning and their intention to use it more regularly, which would increase the use of digital learning technology in actual instruction. Chavda and Parmar (2020) highlighted that education facilities during lockdown has severely disrupted the learning and assessment of the students due to online education. The ideal form of education is still classroom instruction in developing nations like India, where online learning is still in its infancy. The attitude and many infrastructure issues make the transition from traditional classroom instruction to online learning challenging for the various stakeholders. With the help of different statistical techniques, Bhattarai and Maharjan (2020) studied that infrastructure, enjoyment, social influence, accessibility, computer self-efficacy, and infrastructure all had a favourable impact on how useful students viewed the digital learning system to be. With the help of technology and innovation, the digital learning system is transforming the way that people traditionally learn. According to the study, integrating digital technologies in the classroom increases student engagement, accessibility, creativity, effectiveness, and productivity. There are several literature evidences in support of the online education and most researches highlight the factors impacting the adoption and continuation of digital or online education on the grounds of perception and satisfaction related responses of students and teachers. This study is primarily focused upon the perception and satisfaction of higher education students engaged in music discipline. The motive behind this research is to ensure whether online teaching is relevant in context of practical subject like music that includes vocal, instrumental and dance as well or it has some of the loopholes that needs to be taken care of oh the policy planners and decision makers.

In order to accomplish the objectives, the researcher has conducted a survey through questionnaires sent via Google form to 54 students enrolled in the music related higher education courses on convenience sampling basis. These students were from different parts of the country not from any specific institute or state. The scope of study covers Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. The type of questions in the research included multiple choice questions, checkbox, linear rating scale questions and some open ended questions. All the perception and satisfaction related responses were analysed using simple percentage analysis. For the last research objective, some suggestions were drawn from the data interpretation and some were extracted from the direct open ended responses from the students.

1. Basic introductory questions
    Q: What level of education are you enrolled in?

	Frequency	Percentage
Bachelors	39	72.2%
Masters	12	22.2%
M. Phil	0	0 %
Ph.D.	2	3.7%
Diploma	1	1.9%
TOTAL	54	100%

Table 1 Level of Education
Q: What is your specialization subject?

	Frequency	Percentage
Tabla	18	33.3%
Vocal	13	24.1%
Sitar	23	42.6%
Other	0	0 %
TOTAL	54	100%

Table 2 Specialisation Subject
2. Yes, No and May be related questions

Question item	Response percentage
	Yes	No	May be*
Have you ever participated in the online classes?	90.7 %	9.3 %	N.A.
Were you inspired to use online learning mediums?	74.1 %	25.9 %	N.A.
Did you need any training before using online education platforms (like Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, etc.)?	37 %	63 %	N.A.
Did you face any challenge in attending online classes?	40.7%	50 %	9.3 %
Did you already have mobile/computer or laptop facility to attend your online classes?	51.9 %	48.1 %	N.A.
Do you have good internet access for online classes in your area?	44.4 %	55.6 %	N.A.
As compared to offline classes, did you find it easier to ask your teachers for any doubts during online classes?	44.4 %	55.6 %	N.A.
Do you think online classes are in favour of your music subject classes?	11.1 %	61.1 %	27.8 %
Do you think that online classes for music will help you in building a good understanding of your subject?	14.8 %	64.8 %	20.4 %
Was your music teacher able to conduct and take classes effectively?	75.9 %	7.4 %	16.7 %
Do you think that online education has been able to completely replace the traditional classroom based learning in the subject of music?	16.7 %	57.4 %	25.9 %
Do you think online music education should replace offline classroom teaching?	27.8 %	59.3 %	13 %
Do you think the quality of education is better in online music classes?	18.5 %	81.5 %	N.A.
Do you think online music education has made your study work better?	25.9 %	74.1 %	N.A.
Were you able to understand everything in your online music classes?	18.5 %	27.8 %	53.7 %
	Yes	No	Not forcibly, but  willingly
Were you forced to use online learning mediums as there was no other option left?	22.2 %	9.3 %	68.5 %
	Yes	No	Help was not required
Did your college/university help you overcome difficulties in taking online classes?	55.6 %	22.2 %	22.2 %
	Yes	No	Yes with teachers, no with classmates	No with teachers, Yes with classmates
Do you think meeting with teachers and classmates is necessary to create a good learning environment?	81.5 %	1.9 %	13 %	3.7 %

Table 3 Yes, No and May be related questions
*This (May be) option was not included in every question and thus Not Applicable (N.A.) is mentioned wherever May be option was not included
3. Rating related questions
Rate your opinion on a scale of 1 to 5

Question item	Rating
	1	2	3	4	5
How easy or difficult do you find the online education medium to use (1- Very hard, 5- Very easy)	13 %	14.8 %	33.3 %	18.5 %	20.4 %
Your satisfaction of "online" education for music education (1- least satisfied, 5- Most satisfied)	29.6 %	9.3 %	22.2 %	16.7 %	22.2 %
Your satisfaction of "offline" education for music education (1- least satisfied, 5- Most satisfied)	14.8 %	7.4 %	16.7 %	11.1 %	50 %

Table 4 Rating related questions
4. Agree-Disagree questions

Question item	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neutral	Agree	Strongly Agree
Do you think online classes are better than traditional offline classroom based learning?	16.7 %	50 %	22.2 %	7.4 %	3.7 %
Do you think the necessary mediums for online education (such as smartphones, tablets or the Internet), are affordable and available at a low cost?	18.5 %	51.9 %	18.5 %	9.3 %	1.9 %

Table 5 Agree-Disagree questions
5. Miscellaneous question
(a) If you needed training, before using online education platforms (like Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, etc.),  from whom did you get it?

Training Source	Response percentage
Friend	11.2 %
Family member	13 %
Classmate	0 %
Neighbour	0 %
College/university	24.1 %
Teacher	18.5 %
YouTube/Google	5.6 %
Already familiar	25.9 %
Any other	1.9 %

Table 6 Miscellaneous question Table (a)
 (b) With regard to your music subject, what are the benefits of online education in your opinion? [You can tick more than one]

Benefits	Response percentage
Time saving	37 %
Easy to operate	7.4 %
Cost saving	9.3%
Good for theory	27.8 %
Good for practical	13 %
Avoids going to institute	35.2 %
Flexible Time	16.7 %
Any Other	11.1%
No benefits	40.7 %

Table 7 Miscellaneous question Table (b)
(c) In your opinion, what are the challenges/problems of online classes in terms of your music subject? [You can tick more than one]

Challenges/problems	Response percentage
Not easy to understand	55.6 %
Easy for theory, not for practical	61.1 %
Easy for practical, not for theory	11.1 %
Network issue	50 %
Lack of availability of mobile phones/computers/laptops	25.9 %
Difficulty in managing apps and websites	7.4 %
Not in favour of music education	29.6 %
Lack of Interactivity with teachers and classmates	14.8 %
Any Other	3.7 %
No issues	5.6 %

Table 8 Miscellaneous question Table (c)
 (d) For the future, in which education mode would you like to choose your music subject?

Online	0 %
Offline	64.8 %
Hybrid (online and offline both mixed)	35.2 %

Table 9 Miscellaneous question Table (d)
6. Open ended questions
Q- Express your opinion about online classes in Music Education

Positives	Frequency
Flexibility	1
Good experience	4
Avoid hesitation in questioning	1
Ability to reach mass audience	1
Time saving	1
Good for theory	3
Moderate	1
Negatives
Non-availability of instrument at home	2
Lack of practical experience and exposure	7
Network issues	8
Non-acceptance for online mode	16
Difficulty in questioning for doubt clarification and understanding	5
Lack of collective and physical seating with teacher	3
Availability of mobile phones/computers/laptops	2
Not for beginners	1

Table 10 Open ended question about online classes
Q- Express your opinion about "offline" classes in music education

Positives	Frequency
Preferable mode for music education	12
Practical experience and exposure	10
Physical seating with teacher	7
Interactivity	4
Better learning environment	4
Clarification and understanding	9
Non-dependence on technology and network	4
Moderate	1
Negatives
Inability to reach mass audience	2

Table 11  Open ended question about offline classes
Q- Suggestions if any related to improving offline or online teaching methods (optional questions)

Online mode	Offline mode
Availability of smartphones and related facilities should be insured	Practical should be offline only
Availability of musical instruments at home
Network infrastructure
Should not be in regular basis

Table 12 Open ended question about suggestions for improvement

This research tried to highlight various dimensions and parameters related to online education. After the data collection responses of 54 music students, some of the following major interpretation can be drawn: 1. 55.6% students mentioned ‘No’ to the availability of good internet connectivity in their area (Table 3). This can be validated from open ended response (Table 10), where 8 students mentioned network issue. 50% picked network issue from the list of challenges (Table 8). 2. 16 students indicated that online education is not acceptable or not in favour of music education (Table 10). This can be validated through Yes/No type questions, where 61.1% students responded ‘No’ to suitability of online music education (Table 3). 29.6% students pointed ‘Not in favour of music education’ as challenge for online education (Table 8). 3. As compared to offline classes, 55.6% students did not find online classes as a good medium to clarify their doubts with the teachers 57.4% students clearly responded that online education can never replace the classroom based music education and 25.9% are not sure about it (Table 3). 4. Overall, 64.8% voted for offline education, followed by hybrid mode (35.2%) and lastly 0% for purely online education (Table 9). In open ended questions also, 12 students reflected favour for offline education for music and 10 students highlighted the benefit of practical exposure and experience during offline classes, 7 students mentioned importance of physical sitting and practicing in front of teacher (Table 11). This can be validated as 81.5% students voted ‘Yes’ that physical practice while interacting with teachers and classmates is vital (Table 3). In scaling question, 16.7% strongly disagreed and 50% disagreed that online education is better than the traditional classroom based teaching for music (Table 5). 5. In terms of understanding, 74.1% students did not find that online education made their study work better. 27.8% voted ‘No’ for ease of understanding during online classes and 53.7 are not sure that whether they understood good or not (Table 3). 55.6% students pointed understanding as a challenge of online classes (Table 8). 6. 40.7% students find No benefit of online education, 37% students find it time saving followed by 35.2% students who find it favourable due to institute visit avoidance. 27.8% students find online teaching good for theory portion of syllabus (Table 7). 7. Out of 40.7% students those who faced challenges during online education, 25.9% students indicated lack of availability of mobile phones/computers/laptops as a challenge for online classes (Table 8). In scaling question, 18.5% students strongly disagreed and 51.9% disagreed that the mediums required for classes (smartphones/laptops, etc.) are available at affordable prices (Table 5). 8. In terms of satisfaction, 61.1% (50% highly satisfied + 11.1% satisfied) students are satisfied with the offline education whereas 38.9% (22.2% highly satisfied + 16.7% satisfied) are satisfied with the online education (Table 4). The overall conclusion can be drawn that in terms of practical oriented subjects like music, online education is not as beneficial as per the expectations. Some issues like network connectivity, affordability of ICT related infrastructure, etc. are common across all disciplines. Theory aspect can be taken but as far as the practical “Riyaaz” aspect is concerned, online medium of education cannot serve the purpose unless no other option is left like lockdown. For the accomplishment of third and last objective, following suggestions can be made: 9. Theory aspect can be taken through online platform, but improvement in the ICT related infrastructure (Internet facility primarily) is essential. 10. Availability of smartphones at affordable prices is another necessity. 11. Keep music related practical aspect through regular classroom based teaching only. 12. Training support for students as well as teachers to operate technology.

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