Teachers to hold classes under open sky if univs don’t reopen

University Teachers’ Network on Tuesday urged the authority to reopen universities from first week of September otherwise they announced to hold symbolic classes in open spaces protesting the closure.

They proposed a roadmap on how to reopen campuses gradually during a virtual press conference conducted by Dhaka University Prof Gitiara Nasreen.

According to the roadmap, the residential halls should be reopened immediately (from September 1) for honours and masters students. Once their exams are over, the other batches should get residential facilities step by step.

“No examination can be taken without ensuring residential facilities. Students who will stay in the halls and those who will come from home should participate in exams in separate rooms to curb Covid-19 transmission,” said Chittagong University Assistant Professor Maidul Islam while presenting the keynote paper.

After completion of the exams, there could be a “hybrid system”, where students should get the opportunity to participate in classes -- both online and offline. Fifty percent of the students could join online and rest could start regular classes in the classroom.

“If a student falls ill, he/she can join online,” Maidul Islam added.

According to the keynote paper, Covid-19 testing and vaccination for students should be installed at campus medical centres on a priority basis. The capacity of medical centres, along with isolation facility, should be upgraded.The University Teachers’ Network also demanded starting an online teaching-learning management system for teachers and a separate committee in each university to train them.