Online education will become the new normal in our education system, says JNU VC

As the country battles the COVID-19 crisis, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar on Saturday urged to distinguish education between online and inside the classroom. Speaking at the JNU Workshop on Empowering Teaching through Online Mode (JNU-WETOM II), the VC said that "time has come for the educational institutes to decide which part of education needs to be taught inside the classroom and which part online."

He further added that the JNU will continue to train teachers across the country even post-COVID-19 as online education will become the new normal in our education system. "The students need to be given the necessary freedom to stay in their residence and attend the lectures," he added.

The JNU Workshop on Empowering Teaching through Online Mode (JNU-WETOM II) was a two-day workshop held on Friday and Saturday. According to reports, over 600 faculty members from across the country had attended it. According to the VC, in a live poll, around 87 percent of the participants rated the workshop as "excellent". Further, as per most of the faculty members, the workshop was a "need of the hour" during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. 

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JNU's academic calender

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Saturday announced that its academic calendar and said exams will be completed by July 31. JNU vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar said the academic calendar has been unanimously approved by all the deans of Schools and Chairpersons of Special Centres.

He said, "Tentatively, students are expected to return to the JNU campus between June 25 to and 30 so that they can complete their remaining academic components and complete their examinations. Examinations will be completed by July 31." He further added that the next semester for the continuing students will start from August 1 for which the entire monsoon semester registration process will be made completely online making it easy for the students to register even from their homes. Meanwhile, the deadline for research scholars to submit their dissertations has been extended to December 31.

Read: 'Illiterate secularism': Pavan Varma tears into opposition to JNU's Ramayana seminar

COVID-19 in India

According to the latest update from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, the number of total Coronavirus cases in the country has climbed to 59,662, including 39,834 active cases. While 1,981 deaths have been reported overall, around 17,847 people have been cured/discharged/migrated. Meanwhile, Maharashtra and Gujarat have the highest number of cases in the country. 

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(With Agency Inputs)