KU to begin online classes as coronavirus lockdown persists

KARACHI: The  University of Karachi on Friday announced that it would kick off online classes to resume academic activities, as the country cautiously proceeds with a smart lockdown in place to  curb the spread of coronavirus as well as sustain the economy.

According to a statement from the varsity, the decision was taken at a meeting of the Academic Council which met today virtually to review the situation and decide about the future line of action of the university. Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi chaired the meeting.

The council also approved to launch a training programme for the teachers for which deans would nominate the faculty members to be trained as master trainers.

"The dean offices would be the hub to facilitate the teachers, whereas, the Dean Faculty of Education, Professor Dr Nasir Salman, would guide the teachers in avoiding plagiarism and copyright matters during online classes," the statement read.

The online classes and submission of assignments of various courses as per the approved course outline would be conducted till July 15. The online classes may also include the alternative to labs and practical sessions.

"The teachers would conduct online classes from their homes. However, in case of any difficulty, they could use their offices, classrooms, or meeting rooms of the Dean Offices of their faculties. Each department should constitute a departmental evaluation/student assessment committee before July 15, 2020," the statement added.

For those students who are unable to attend online classes, the university would conduct classes from July 16 to August 13 — on Saturdays and Sundays.

"It has been decided that during the same period, classes, labs, or alternatives to labs/practical to complete the leftover part of the syllabi by considering the smart duration of 40 minutes for each class," it said.

"The finalisation of online student assessment/examination/evaluation material would be carried out from August 17 to 21 and the semester examination would be held from August 22 to September 12," the statement further said.

The second-semester teaching would be from September 15 to December 13. The semester examinations would be held from December 14 to 31.

Read more: Students and teachers at crossroads over online education in Pakistan

Evening programme schedule

Meanwhile, online teaching (classes), labs, and assessment for the evening programme would be conducted till July 15, 2020, while classes/labs for the leftover syllabus could be conducted from July 16 to September 10.

The finalisation of online assessment/examination/evaluation material would be held from September 11 to 13.

The first-semester examination would be held from September 14 to 30 while the second semester could be arranged from October 1 to December 31, and second-semester examinations could be started from January 01 to 20, 2021.