THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of schools, higher educational institutions in the state are also set to adopt online mode of instruction. The Higher Education Department has given a set of guidelines to ensure that online classes are conducted in colleges from the beginning of next month till the academic atmosphere returns to normal.
The Directorate of Technical Education has already issued a circular directing engineering colleges to re-open on June 1 for teachers to devise options for converting the instruction to online mode. Speaking to TNIE, Higher Education Minister K T Jaleel said a similar order will be issued soon by the Directorate of Collegiate Education for arts and science colleges as well.
"Colleges will be directed to take steps for a transition to the online instruction mode at the earliest. Universities will ensure that online classes are carried out seriously and with maximum student participation in virtual mode," Jaleel said.
As per the Higher Education Department's proposal, online classes will be held from 8.30 am to 1.30 pm from June 1. The classes will be conducted by teachers from home using online platforms such as Zoom, Google Classroom or Google Meet.
For students who will not have access to the online classes in real-time, recorded videos of the classes will be uploaded to video-sharing platforms such as Youtube.
According to the Minister, the afternoon time can be utilised by students for enrolling in various open online courses and by teachers to carry out research activities or to pursue online courses.
"The online mode of instruction is not a complete replacement of the traditional classroom but an attempt to ensure that some sort of academic activity is carried out in the state's higher educational institutions, Jaleel added.