Many of us need to understand that we are in the midst of an unprecedented situation.
SUKKUR: The HEC has rightly underlined the need for online examination and online classes across the country. The approach is an extremely proactive one as there seems to be no point in spending months waiting for things to return back to normal. WHO and other medical experts have lamented that it is less likely that the virus will disappear in the foreseeable future. Therefore, we have to learn to live with it.
Of late, online examinations have been successfully conducted in countries like the US, the UK and Australia. Similarly, Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand is also experimenting with online exams while in Norway the University of Bergen, the University of Oslo and the University of Agder have resorted to digital examinations. Students, on the other hand, claim that the physical presence once shared between a teacher and students through traditional classes cannot be felt while teaching via an online webinar. However, recent studies have indicated that online education may prove to be beneficial for higher education students as it can be more convenient and flexible, enabling them to re-access the same lectures in case any student needs to skip an online session. Looking at the situation from a monetary perspective, online classes seem less expensive and more easily manageable than physically taking classes at university which often includes expenses for food and commuting to and from university. For professors, teaching online classes entails being more careful and responsible. Majority of the teaching fraternity is hardly ready to initiate online classes, as if it is a task they dread doing. More unfortunate is that students also enjoy treating the closure of universities as a blessing, oblivious of the far-reaching implications of it on their career.
Many of us need to understand that we are in the midst of an unprecedented situation. There is not much that can be done as things will be far from perfect. Switching to online higher education classes seems to be the only option till the pandemic is over.
Riaz Mahar
Published in The Express Tribune, June 12th, 2020.
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