Testing times for lecturers as e-classes used for trolling

Online classes are posing as much of a challenge to teachers as students, with many educators complaining that they are unable to have disciplined classes.

Online classes are posing as much of a challenge to teachers as students, with many educators complaining that they are unable to have disciplined classes.

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Weeks after the management of St Xavier’s College in Dhobi Talao suspended three Class 12 students for sharing their online class IDs with outsiders, who, in turn, abused the teacher during a class, a large number of teachers are complaining about similar problems.

A handful of colleges have already started lectures for Class 12 as well as second and third-year degree courses, and teachers are finding it difficult to handle students, most of whom keep their videos and audios off during class, leaving the teacher unsure of their presence during the lecture.

“The rule is that only the teacher gets to talk during the class, while students can ask questions in a chat window, or at the end of the class. The problem is that at any given point, I’m unsure of the students’ presence because the screens are mostly blank. There’s no way of finding out if the students are present or not,” said Archana Sachdeva, a visiting faculty at a host of suburban colleges.

“The paid apps are for around 90-100 people per class, but our junior college classes have anywhere between 100-120 students, so we will end up paying for two classes per lecture, which is not feasible. At present, we are trying to plug the loopholes with the help of our information technology team,” said Rajendra Shinde, principal of St Xavier’s College. He added that while a first information report (FIR) has not been registered against the perpetrators, the incident has been shared with the deputy commissioner of police, cyber crime cell.

Recently, a senior professor from a Delhi-based university took to social media to share his experience of conducting an online class, in which he faced constant abuse and was made fun of by some users. His post went viral within hours, and teachers affiliated with Mumbai colleges shared similar problems faced by them during online classes.

While regular lectures as per a timetable are yet to begin, many colleges have started conducting classes online to ease teachers and students into the process. This insistence on starting online classes, however, has not gone down well with many teachers.

“None of the colleges have thought things through, and have dived into the online class bandwagon without considering security protocols and precautions for teachers as well as students. In some cases, the colleges have not even bothered to check if teachers or students have access to good internet, and still, classes have started,” said a lecturer of a prominent south Mumbai college, on condition of anonymity.

As of now, the Maharashtra Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisation (MFUCTO) has not received official complaints from their members, but the problem is real, said the spokesperson. “Classes have commenced due to the compulsion laid down by colleges, and teachers are bearing the brunt. To date, not a single notification to start classes has been released by the University of Mumbai (MU) or state government. On what basis then, have classes begun,” asked Tapati Mukhopadhyay, president, MFUCTO.

She added that amidst confusion on the status of exams for final-year students, no notification has been released by universities to the colleges. “What’s worse is that colleges have started lectures without waiting to find out about the syllabus. Since the 2020-21 academic year is being reduced to seven months instead of nine or 10, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has clarified that the curriculum will have to be compressed. Yet, some colleges have started lectures,” she added.

As of now, state universities have asked their affiliated colleges to promote all students, except those in the final year, but no clarity on commencement of regular academics has been shared yet.

“We still request colleges to call off classes until further clarity from the government,” added Mukhopadhyay.