MICRO- CREDENTIALS: EMERGENCE AS A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE IN EDUCATION

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an evolutionary force in higher education - in more ways
than just making information and communication technology the vehicle for learning. It has
resulted in a sea-change in the way the future of higher education is perceived by all the
stakeholders. Even before the pandemic - many countries including the U.S. and our own
country were witnessing what may well be called ‘a bubble’ in the higher education sector -
implying that degrees and higher education are getting so expensive that it is almost impossible
to recover the expenses incurred in acquiring the degree within a reasonable period of time.
The increasing trend of piling student loans and rising unemployment does not bode well for
higher education as it is traditionally conceptualized. Further, there is often a considerable
gap in employability and the needs of the employer. In several economic sectors - we have
seen the corporate world take over the training to fill the employability gap. Bubbles, as we
know too well - have a propensity to burst. Micro- credentials are a relatively new trend in
education which has gained momentum as the pandemic progressed. This conceptual paper
explores the emergence of micro- credentialing as a viable alternative pathway to meaningful
learning and reviews some of the current trends and literature in the field.