13 Aug 2020  |   03:54am IST

GU online classes: Principals approve, all students yet to click on

From loading lectures on YouTube to giving electronic ids to track attendance colleges are on the front foot in making online classes work. Students though have reservations and questions including those on network connectivity and the new ‘F’ word, fees
GU online classes:  Principals approve, all students yet to click on

Ajit John

The decision to allow colleges affiliated to the Goa University to conduct classes from September 1 has been generally welcomed by the academic and student community. Students in the higher secondary classes have already been receiving instructions online for well over a month. This decision by the authorities however also raises questions. Will the syllabus be trimmed; how will exams be conducted and importantly will the fees be trimmed to be in synch with the economic hardship felt by many families in the state.

In a statement issued by Don Bosco College, Panjim, Prof Nikita Chodankar Head- Department of Mass Communication said “ We are all set to begin with the online classes from September 1. Online classes are now the safest way to deliver lectures and complete the portion. We will abide and follow the guidelines and circulars sent by the University. We had conducted a survey with our existing students to understand the accessibility of conducting the classes online and to check if they undergo any network issues as some of our students reside in the villages and remote areas of Goa. As of now, very few have raised concerns over network problems. We will try to help them by providing maximum resource materials and also explain and solve their queries by using their convenient mode of communication”.

Prita Mallya, Principal Shree Damodar College of Commerce and Economics said the decision to start online classes was absolutely fine by her. She said “We are ready. The teachers have prepared their content and the timetables are ready.  We have been organising webinars and the students know what is happening. Some students are having problems with connectivity. We will be uploading each and every lecture on our YouTube channel.  We will also mail the PPT to the students”. On the very sensitive subject of fees, she said the fees would remain the same, but it could be paid over four installments. She said students were free to pay it all in one installment too.

Fr Simon Deniz Rosary of the Rosary College of Commerce and Arts Navelim however preferred to wait and watch. He said “Yes, we just received a circular stating that classes could be conducted from September 1 but it was not specified if it could be done in an online mode or physical mode. We will wait and hope for more information”. He said they had received several circulars over the past couple of months which had amounted to nothing and this circular was another one in that long line. Speaking of fees, he said they would follow the instructions issued by the government whereby students could pay in four installments. With regards to the curriculum, he said they would follow all the instructions issued by the Goa University. The father said “With regards to the term perhaps they might cancel Diwali holidays and have holidays for Ganpati and Christmas to ensure the curriculum is completed. It is just my thought. Anything can happen, the number of cases is increasing by the day and the situation on the ground could change again”.        

Another principal who presented a very clear picture of the situation was Prof Savio Falleiro Principal, Fr. Agnel College of Arts & Commerce, Pilar who said the students had nothing to fear because they had prepared online content with voice and teachers had been trained to present it online. He said “There are factors which we can control like creating content, we have the infrastructure which we will use. Each and every student will be given an id on the college domain. We can evaluate how well they are reacting to it. We will know whether they are attending class or not. All this is our hands. What is not in our hands is bandwidth”. Speaking about exams he said students in semester 5 and 6 were being tested for thirty marks. The methodology he said would have to be decided by the university.  With regards to the fees, he said they would follow the instructions issued by the government.  

The student's enthusiasm however was coloured by some reservations. Sonali Pandit a second-year student of arts at Fr Agnel College Pilar said network issues in her area made this decision difficult to accept. She said “I would like to go to college and attend lectures and yes I am aware of the dangers of the virus. I will follow all the protocols because I am aware of the dangers that one could be exposed to.” Sayed Aliazad from the same college was very comfortable with the idea of being instructed online but had serious reservations when it came to the fees that had to be paid for the same. He said “I have paid Rs 8150 for online classes. If you check the receipt for the payment it says it's for gymn and various other services. If classes were to be conducted online, they should not have charged us anything more than Rs 1000. Many schools have charged anywhere between Rs 18,000-Rs25,000 in these times which is very expensive. I know of people who have found it difficult to pay these fees. Something ought to be done about this.”

Other students too articulated the same concerns of the fees being charged and the difficulties being faced in accessing broadband but felt in these times, one would have to learn to adapt to the times.

IDhar UDHAR

Idhar Udhar