COVID-19 Lockdown: Committees for academic calendar, online learning

NEW DELHI: The union government says it will soon form an academic calendar committee to look into the consequences of the delays caused by the COVID-19 lockdown.

The human resource development (HRD) minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” announced this at a video conference attended by the vice chancellors of central universities, an official statement said.

Pokhriyal said the academic calendar committee will be headed by the University Grants Commission chairman.

The country went into a lockdown from March 25, throwing all academic schedules out of gear.

All the educational institutions have been shut down. Exams have either been cancelled or postponed, which is likely to affect the upcoming academic season.

Online education

The HRD minister informed the conference that a committee under the chairmanship of IGNOU vice chancellor Nageshwar Rao has been formed to promote online education.

The committee will give recommendations on online examination also, Pokhrial said.

The HRD ministry had earlier advised higher education institutions to embrace online learning in a big way to overcome the gaps in the learning process because of the lockdown.

The minister directed the heads of institutions to motivate their teachers and students to use online digital platforms to continue the academic programs.

Mental health of students

The HRD minister said it has been decided to form a committee under a joint secretary of the ministry to ensure mental well-being of the students.

The conference discussed measures to be taken for the mental health and well-being of students and staff of the universities.

The ministers also directed the universities to use social media to disseminate information about initiatives related to COVID-19.

Promoting the Aarogya Setu app, the HRD minister asked everyone to use it to combat COVID-19 more effectively and encouraged them to follow the health protocol on immunity boosting measures developed by the Ministry of AYUSH.

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