Online learning access levels are not uniformly distributed throughout the country as the majority of the schools, institutes and universities in the country prefer physical classes instead of digital ones. The purpose of research was to develop a psychological understanding on online education during COVID-19 pandemic from secondary and higher education learners’ perspective. The present qualitative study consisted of a total of 31 students (N=31; 14 males and 17 females). The learners belonged to the age group of 15 to 22 years studying at various government and private institutions. The research used semi-structured interviews for data collection and thematic network analysis as a tool for data interpretation to yield insights. After independent review and revision of themes, a total of 12 global themes emerged, six themes describing the positive impacts and other six explained aspirational needs on online education. As a result, the study tapped into understanding not only primary factors related to online learning such as preference for learning, teachers response, infrastructural needs, etc but it also tapped into secondary factor that might have impact on online education such as social relationship with family and friends, home setting, role of social media & relationship with peers.
Keywords: Online education, Pandemic, Learners, Thematic network, Global themes