Universities should announce a fee concession as well to support student’s internet charges
ISLAMABAD: Due to the surge in coronavirus cases, the government of Pakistan has announced closure of all educational institutions across the country. After that, several universities and institutions decided to pursue the idea of online classes using tools like Microsoft teams, zoom, etc.
Online education or distance learning is considered as a promising way to provide education to millions of people in the developing world. But online education is still constrained by technological infrastructure. Only 36.18 per cent people in Pakistan are internet users, which translates into approximately 76,381,089 citizens having access to internet. Pakistan ranked 121st in the world for mobile speeds and 157th for fixed broadband speeds in February 2020.
We don’t have any fiber cable backhaul in every city for high speed. The Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation, the largest internet service provider in Pakistan, offers fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service in only eight cities with selected areas. Average residential or fixed internet speed in Pakistan is 7.55 MBPS, which is not enough for high quality online video streaming. In a lockdown situation, the internet speed at home is already touching its maximum limit. Furthermore, the 3G and 4G services still has challenges like mobility, data bundle and expensive data rates.
In this scenario, online classes don’t seem to be possible or adequate. Most students can suffer in their semester, especially those living in far-flung areas and villages. Universities must make sure that all students have proper internet connection or can afford 3G, 4G services before starting online classes. Universities should announce a fee concession as well to support student’s internet charges. Concludingly, the education ministry should now make a policy for institutions who are conducting online classes.
Yasir Iqbal
Published in The Express Tribune, March 31st, 2020.
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