KARACHI:
Amid the pandemic universities made many claims regarding the efficient continuation of education without discrimination based on the social status of a student. As per the government’s decision the ongoing semester would be conducted in a hybrid manner — a mixture of both online and on-campus classes. Under this, the material for all the courses would be available online on the Learning Management System (LMS) and the attendance would be marked based on the students’ engagement on the LMS.
However, it has recently been witnessed that many teachers are no longer uploading weekly course materials online. Rather, they are pushing students to show up physically to classrooms while threatening to deduct marks based on no participation if they fail to show up. Many teachers have even considered not marking student’s attendance. Additionally, those who are willing to attend classes are made to sign an undertaking which relieves the institute from any liability in case a student catches the deadly virus. Even the SOPs laid out are not being followed as certain faculty members and students take off their masks upon entering the class room. Institutions have even failed to maintain social distancing by seating students at close proximity to one another.
With the threat of a second wave looming over us, the federal and provincial education ministers should take notice and act in accordance at the earliest.
Abdullah Bin Hamza
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, October 20th, 2020.
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