Abstract

The Covid-19 hit has affected the education system of Pakistan in numerous ways; one of them is a sudden transition from traditional classroom education to online learning. Considering the social-distancing as the only solution to fight against Covid_x0002_19, the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan advised universities to switch to online teaching. Since this transition is a sudden and recent phenomenon, therefore, the current study attempts to explore learners’ perception of online education specifically in the context of covid-19. The present study also attempts to examine the differences between male and female students’ perception of this new mode of instruction. This research takes up this task by utilizing a qualitative method approach. The data is collected through focus group discussions, interviews and mind maps. The data collected from focus groups and interviews are analyzed qualitatively by using interpretivist paradigm. Moreover, the results of mind maps are used for triangulating the findings of the qualitative data. The study further explored that there is a significant difference between the male and female perceptions of online learning. Male students are more positive towards online learning as compared to female students. However, there are some commonalities between all the students as well. Furthermore, the majority of the students accepted online learning because of the pandemic across the globe.