Express News Service

BENGALURU: Online classes have found little favour with students, a survey has found, with many of them saying that they are not ready to face examinations based on these lessons. While internals were held for all subjects, just two papers were taught to us via video lecture, said Sanket, a final-year student from a private engineering college in the city.

If the syllabus was completed, it would have benefitted us, but we were forced to read textbooks on our own. Many from our class have returned to their villages. Classes are interrupted, and several even missed their internal examination because they couldnt log in, said Kishore, a final-year student who returned home to Tumakuru during the lockdown.

Although colleges allowed an open-book examination of 90 minutes, several students were unable to make it. A survey by All India Democratic Students Organisation among students of 210 engineering colleges found that they fear online classes are alienating poor students from the learning process. Final-year students are on the threshold, the university should conduct offline classes and examinations for them on priority. The government should waive all student education loans, said Ashwini KS, state president, AIDSO, and Ajay Kamath, state secretary, AIDSO.

Online education can never be a comprehensive model, it can at best become a monologue lecture one, and aid formal education. If it replaces time-tested classroom teaching, it will be a catastrophe. In India, where many have no access to technology, imposing online teaching will be highly discriminatory and anti-poor, said VN Rajashekar, state secretariat member, Save Education Committee.

Visvesvaraya Technological University officials, too, say the problem of connectivity has disallowed several students from answering internal examinations. VTU Vice-Chancellor Karisiddappa admitted that a number of students were unable to attend the internals, due to bandwidth and connectivity issues. Talks are on to allow them a chance to write their examination once college reopens. Offline exams will not be held in a hurry, and will be in consonance with the MHA and AICTE guidelines, he said.

WHAT THEY SAY

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Students give online classes thumbs down - The New Indian Express