Online classes clock 70% attendance; some professors unhappy with mode

SruthySusan.Ullas@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:28.04.2020

With schools closing for summer vacation, it’s colleges which are conducting online classes now. The sessions are seeing an average attendance of around 70%.

According to Visvesvaraya Technological University, 190 of 219 colleges are actively holding online classes. The average attendance is 70-75%, with urban colleges registering around 90% and those in rural areas struggling to record even 50%. Around 85% of the syllabus has been covered, excluding practical classes.

Bangalore University (BU) classes have an average attendance of 73.5%. The highest has been recorded in the department of microbiology and biotechnology (97%), followed by biochemistry (94%), molecular biology (92%), apparel technology (92%), Hindi (91%), and botany (90%). Rural development classes have seen the lowest attendance with 45%, followed by philosophy (47%) and history (48%). The portion covered is lowest in commerce (38%), Hindi and applied genetics (44%) and MCA (45%). In some engineering branches, 98% of the course has been completed.

In BU’s affiliate colleges, the average attendance is 69% (sample data of 162 colleges were analysed). The average cumulative percentage of syllabus completed is 56.6%.

Bengaluru Central University has registered 60-70% attendance. For Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, it has been highest in homeopathy and pharmacy classes and lowest in medical and dental streams. “Medical students are busy with Covid-19 duties. Since pharmacy and homeopathy students are not directly involved, their classes are running efficiently,” said Dr S Sacchidanand, RGUHS VC.

While classes are in full swing, several teachers are unhappy with the online mode of imparting lessons. One of their biggest worries is the section of students left out in the process. “The university has asked us to send recorded messages of classes to students who can’t attend the sessions. How will they understand sums in accountancy if I just send a recording? The network coverage is so poor that many of my students go to fields and courtyards to join online classes. Even then, the lessons are often interrupted due to network issues,” said a professor from BU’s commerce department. Varsities have directed teachers to help students once regular classes restart.

Conventional teachers, who are not accustomed to the technology, are also worried about the quality of learning among students. “I am an English teacher and my classes are the most important for rural students. Urban students can at least manage reading by themselves. I am uncomfortable taking classes without interacting with students, clarifying their doubts or gauging their levels of comprehension. Our lectures have become flat now. However, there are other tech-savvy students and teachers who seem to be doing pretty well,” said a professor from an English department.

The GetCetGo app that was released by the government last Monday has received only 20,000 downloads in the first week. It was introduced for class 12 students who are preparing for competitive exams.