Sreekala M V
The spread of Coronavirus has brought a lifestyle change across the globe. The changes that have come by in people’s lives after words like social distancing, lockdown and flattening the curve etc. have acquired tangible effect and are varied. While for some the lockdown that has followed the outbreak of this virus is like a much-awaited break whence they can hone their hobbies and do what they miss doing in their otherwise hectic schedule; for others, especially daily wage earners it has proved to be a fight for their existence.
For university students too, the effects of this lockdown have not been the same as it also has depended on their social location, although there are a few similarities.Like all the other educational institutions, Jawaharlal Nehru University also went into a lockdown after a notification dated 16th March stated that all the academic activities would be suspended till 31st March. This suspension is still being continued in accordance with the central government’s directives.
However, this has not meant that all academic exercises have stopped in JNU. The university has asked the teachers to conduct online classes and teach students through e-resources thus shifting the site of learning from classrooms to laptops or smartphones. This arrangement seems good only if it is a strategy for the time being, till we can go back to the normal state of affairs after the pandemic subsides. But if one looks at the attitude of the authorities towards these e-learning tools, it looks like this might be the new normal for the future.
Report of the UGC Committee on Examinations and Academic Calendar, April 2020 has made it clear that the e-learning tools are considered by the UGC at par with classroom teaching and future examinations would be conducted on its basis. This has drastic ramifications for a residential campus like that of JNU. The students of JNU have been engaged in a pitched battle with the administration and MHRD for quite some time now against privatization and for a more inclusive educational policy. If the e-learning tool becomes the new normal, then it would undo what the students have fought for through the past years.
This pandemic has thus provided the authorities a perfect pretext to implement the neo-liberal model of education where one can do away with the university itself and turn students into ‘users’, for it will greatly cut costs and stop the scope of any critical thought as it would limit interaction to a larger extent. The model of e-learning has been in pipeline many years now but the government was not able to implement it due to the opposition from teachers and students alike.
For teachers, the issue was that, this medium limits the scope of understanding the peculiar learning demands of each student for which different teaching strategies have to be employed. For students this meant giving up on the experience of real interaction amongst their ilk and being part of ever happening exchange of information and knowledge.
As a researcher, online meeting or virtual classroom is not an easy method for me to follow. With no access to libraries and archives, the amount of resources available online is often not enough to continue research work satisfactorily. Moreover, the physical space of a university is an important aspect. Creative ideas that emerge out of a classroom discussion is missing in the virtual classrooms. Further, these online resources come with their own set of bottlenecks and exclusions. During one of the “lockdown group calls”, I happened to speak to a friend who said that he didn’t have a ventilated room back home so he had to stay elsewhere so that he could study.
In India, several areas still do not have stable electricity to begin with and therefore uninterrupted internet connection is a distant dream. In addition, JNU being a university that provides a variety of courses including foreign languages, classroom education often becomes a necessity. Unlike research scholars, under-graduation students require systematic lectures to ensure that they cover their syllabus on time.
JNU is a place where the discussions that begin in the classrooms walks with us all the way to the corridors and hostels. Intellectual pursuit is not an activity confined to a room but one that complemented by the life on campus. Once the lockdown is lifted, the students will be waiting to get that life back. Work from home is not an easy option for those pursuing academics. The semester in JNU commenced in January and the campus was resuming regular academic activities after a long gap. The university had faced unprecedented situations in the months before.
Ever since the new hostel manual was passed in October, the campus witnessed unrest. After months of struggle, it was time to go back to our respective academic activities. There was hardly one month of normalcy before the outbreak of Corona and the emergency situation due to Corona has left students stranded in many places uncertain of their future. This is the time to be socially responsible and take precautions and once the pandemic subsides, JNU will bustle with discussions and debates.
(Sreekala is a PhD Scholar in Centre for Historical Studies, JNU)
