Vice chancellors of all universities across the country on Wednesday suggested returning to a hybrid model for classes - with half in classrooms and the rest attending from home through virtual classrooms as they reiterated their commitment to ensuring adherence to standard operating procedures for the novel coronavirus.
This was committed by the vice chancellors during the 34th meeting of the Vice Chancellors Committee which was held online on Wednesday by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and was attended by a large number of vice chancellors and rectors.
The heads of university reviewed the prevailing situation on campuses with regards to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), especially in the context of the second wave of the pandemic.
They said that the universities have already taken several steps to cope with the situation, including the strict enforcement of standard operating procedures (SOPs) on campuses, reducing the number of students in classrooms and hostels, and a shift to the hybrid model of instruction - where some students are in classrooms while the rest are at home.
“While the adherence to SOPs has dropped significantly in most other public places, universities have tried hard to maintain their level of vigilance and provide a good example for others,” the vice chancellors said.
They expressed their commitment to adhering to the government guidelines on Covid-19. A majority of vice chancellors said that they can switch to either online or hybrid instruction methods. Moreover, they can further limit those who can access their campus, in case there is a need to further curtail public interaction.
Other options were also discussed, including enhancing counselling services for students as well as the general public, sharing information, technical resources, and mutual learning from the best practices of others.
They also demanded that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) arrange better data packages for students and faculty members to facilitate online interaction and instruction. During the meeting, HEC Chairman Dr Tariq Banuri apprised the heads of universities about the decision taken by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC).
“We need to do the best we can to deter any disruption in the education system being caused by the recurrence of Covid-19,” he said, stressing that universities need to prepare and look ahead as to how they can better deal with any evolving situation.
Dr Banuri further recommended that faculty members take courses on conducting online classes, adapt their syllabus for such classes and hold test-runs of their courses and the system to avoid running into problems during class and have solutions on hand for issues which crop up. Similarly, universities were asked to set up a governance system for decision-making and adjudication of complaints.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 19th, 2020.
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