A decision has been made at last. Students in the final year of their college life will now be allowed to attend lectures in class. They will also be able to meet with friends and exchange news. This will be after a period of more than a year when all the studying they did was online. For many students, this was a very welcome change. The original normal does feel good. Like all originals do,
Leo Faleiro of SJVC in Cortalim said “It will be good going back to college, the personal interactions with my professors and friends are what I was missing most and it will be a pleasure meeting them again. Still, necessary covid precautions will need to be observed”.
Shubangi Mandrekar from St Joseph Vaz College, Cortalim said she was happy to be going back to her college after a very long time. She said “ I feel offline classes will help us to understand better than online classes. Offline classes will make us active and yes it is also more comfortable for us.. Online classes were tiring and totally impersonal and I was losing interest in studying. Now I am recharged. Hope the offline classes will continue”.
Aryavrat Malhotra from a college in Panjim said he was content with the idea of offline classes commencing again. He said “It is important especially in the final year because it is not possible to conduct practicals online. The theory can be managed online. I have taken both the vaccinations and can go out and take advantage of that fact. Yes, it will be important to follow all the protocols”. If cases increased then it would make sense to go back online. He said he preferred a lecture in class but given the situation, it made sense to continue it online. Aryavrat said nothing really beats sitting in a class discussing an idea with the teacher and fellow students.
Evane Picardo, another student, said online classes were nice but offline was always better. She said “In class, you can clarify your doubts and you get a better understanding of it all. I am happy offline is starting. I don’t know what the schedule will be but they could perhaps start twice a week and then ramp it up.”
Shazlin Dias a student said “It feels so nice to get back to physical classes because online classes would get disconnected either on the teacher’s end or the students due to poor connectivity. It used to be difficult to clear doubts and difficulties online. Online mode felt like I was the only one studying and it was also boring to attend classes without friends. I used to also get distracted with other things than concentrating on the lectures. In physical mode, one can concentrate better without getting distracted.”
Shreeya Kudchadkar was excited to be going back to college. She said “Yes, I attended classes online, answered exams but there is a special appeal to attending class together with friends. You meet friends, meet the professors. It is great fun. I won’t say online was bad, we were using new apps, talking to people on screen but I prefer studying in class offline any day.”
Aaron D’Souza from a college in Panjim said in the final year there was a lot of practical work. He said “Online just does not suffice. You have to be present in the college. Theory can be taught online but practical cannot. For the whole of last year, we paid all the fees but could not use college equipment”. Speaking about his online experience he said it was pretty intuitive and it was possible to access content better than offline classes and he also had the freedom of being in an environment that one liked. But he said he would still prefer to go to class.
Vikram Pandit who studied in a college in Cortalim said online classes were all okay considering the situation but offline according to him was the best mode for studying. He said he was happy to be returning to college.
However, there were also those like Shrufi Devanand who felt it would be unsafe to restart classes. He said “ It is true that offline is definitely a better option than online but if we consider our health before education then it sounds a bit off. Nowadays along with Covid-19, dengue is also prevalent in many areas. lt is not safe for us to congregate. Considering the situation I would prefer the online option.”
A decision has been made and now classes will be conducted offline. It would be prudent if all the protocols are in place and importantly followed. Goa cannot afford another lockdown.
