HEC issues guidelines for faculty and staff

Islamabad : Given the COVID-19 Outbreak, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) on Wednesday issued detailed guidelines for faculty and staff attendance in universities and Degree Awarding Institutions (DAIs).

The guidelines directed the vice chancellors, rectors, heads of the universities and DAIs to exercise their discretion, within the ambit of broader governmental directives, regarding the schedule of attendance of the faculty and staff.

The guidelines say that the faculty shall be asked to attend campus only when required for preparation and delivery of online courses and content to minimize any academic loss for the students. No large gatherings should be allowed on campus during the period of lockdown.

It further notifies that the number of participants in faculty and staff meetings or training sessions should be restricted to 20. During these meetings, safe distances should be maintained between all participants at all times, and all other precautionary and preventive measures should be observed strictly.

The guidelines impose a ban on all external visitors to universities and DAIs until April 05, 2020 and says that public notices in this regard should be displayed at entry gates and points, websites, and social media pages of universities, and announced on FM radios. All general or specific public queries would be addressed through an effective online arrangement.

According to the guidelines, the categories of faculty and staff members exempted from duty or allowed to work from home include non-essential staff, faculty or staff over 50 years of age, and a serious co-morbidity such as cardiovascular disease or diabetes, female employees (faculty or staff members) who are pregnant or lactating and faculty or staff with any symptom of illness or susceptibility to disease.

In addition to that, staff or faculty with travel history to or residence in a country and area or territory reporting local transmission of COVID-19 or having contact with a confirmed or probable COVID-19 case would be asked to self-isolate themselves for two weeks, and allowed to work from home.

The document says that depending on the essential work load, staff may be segregated into groups, each attending campus on a rotational basis as per a clear schedule and surveillance and monitoring system (including contact and complaint registration) should be instituted to guarantee effective implementation of the prescribed guidelines.

It says that universities and DAIs shall make complete arrangements for safe and secure housing of enrolled foreign students in accordance with the WHO and standard guidelines.

The objective of these guidelines is to ensure the safety and security of faculty and non-faculty employees of the Universities and DAIs during the COVID-19 outbreak, while minimizing academic disruption. These guidelines are in addition to any instructions issued by the health agencies of the federal and provincial governments.

These guidelines will be implemented strictly, circulated widely, and displayed prominently for the convenience and reference of all university faculty and staff members.