Students face difficulties to adjust to online education system

Islamabad: Students from various academic levels are facing difficulties to adjust with the online education system launched by a number of educational institutions since the prevailing Coronavirus lockdown situation across the country to continue their curricular activities.

Educational institutes have started practicing online learning system in a full-fledged manner to bring back students to their regular studies as the evolving coronavirus pandemic did not seem ending soon in the country.

Muhammad Rizwan, a college student, said, “It was very difficult for him to study through online classes as this type of learning was entirely a new concept for him. Besides facing difficulty to understand the lectures, he said, The timing of online classes was also not convenient for him. He was unable to concentrate on the studies due to disruption of internet connection and back to back classes without break.

Another student of Grade-X, Zunaira Akram said, the administration of his school, run privately, charged full fee from the students but compromising on the quality of education being provided online.

Demanding reduction in school fee, she said, “It is hard for their parents to pay full fees in this difficult period of COVID-19 when most of the family members have lost their private jobs.” Even she could not afford internet charges these days which is mandatory for pursuing online study, she added.

Talking to this agency, an education expert, Dr. Pervaiz Hoodboy said traditional educational system has been shifted to advance online classrooms due to the coronavirus lockdown and it is a great challenge for the teachers as well as the students to adjust themselves with this new system. The online material being utilized for teaching purposes by most of the educational institutions was not up to the mark. Similarly, teachers are also not well-trained and equipped with the modern technology based teaching style,” he observed.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Teleschool initiative of the incumbent government was also a great effort for educating the students from schools and colleges. According to the survey of Gallup Pakistan, the Teleschool channel estimated daily viewership has been assessed from 1.5 million to two million children of 5-to-15 years.

Joint Secretary, Ministry of Education and Professional Training, Syed Umair Javed said the Teleschool initiative has received overwhelming response from the students due to its availability on antenna and cable all around the country. This effort would surely compensate the students for academic loss through engaging them in learning activities.