Daily Times

Coronavirus, globally known as COVID-19, has shaken the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “More than 392,000 people have been infected by coronavirus globally and more than 17,000 have died.” The virus outbreak was reported from the Wuhan city of China for the first time. The different kind of the point of views came out about the outbreak, but the way Chinese authorities, especially doctors and nurses, tried hard to curb the virus is remarkable. Such kind of dedication has set an example for the rest of the world. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 did not remain restricted to China until it could have been eradicated once for all, but it spread other parts of the world as well. Till now, coronavirus has affected more than one hundred and sixty countries. It was expected that the COVID-19 could also cross the Pakistan-China border because a huge number of Pakistani students are admitted to Chinese universities. Surprisingly, the pandemic reached Pakistan not through China but Iran.

Iran is one of the most affected countries and more than eleven hundred fatalities from the coronavirus have been recorded so far. Due to such an outbreak in Iran, the virus also reached Pakistan through the infected Pakistani pilgrims who returned from Iran via Taftan, a town located in Chagai District Balochistan. The pilgrims went from Taftan to different provinces, especially Sindh and Punjab. The majority of pilgrims were sent to Sukkur city of Sindh and DG Khan in Punjab, where they have been quarantined in quarantine centers. However, Sindh is leading in coronavirus positive cases, but the number is increasing in Punjab and other provinces/regions as well. This situation created panic and as a result, during a meeting of the National Security Committee it was decided to close all educational institutions till April 5, 2020.

This is a very alarming situation that the exams for matriculation and also the Cambridge school system were to be held this month, have been postponed. And, as the numbers of COVID-19 positive cases are increasing day by day, it is expected that the period for the closure of educational institutions will further be extended. In this critical situation, it has been decided by the Higher Education Commission to hold online classes so that the term of the semester in universities may not be increased. But, this has still been remaining a challenge on how to manage the online class system?

Even in many rural areas and the countryside, people have no access to electricity properly

The online learning system is not a new phenomenon in Pakistan, as the distance learning programs have already been run in the country but the scope of these programs has remained very limited. The Virtual University and Allama Iqbal University are vivid examples in this regard. Still, the question arises that is this possible for all the students countrywide to participate in this online learning process? I am sure the answer is No because Pakistan is not only a developing country but is also far away from the digitalization process that the West, Europe, and even China are experiencing. Despite this, according to the United Nations, “More than 770 million learners worldwide are now being affected by school and university closures.” Even China, being a second-largest economy of the world, had faced many challenges when the Chinese authorities announced the online learning system during the severity of COVID-19 in China.

In February 2020, almost 200 million kids across China started their classes online. The logic behind starting the online classes was elaborated as “Stop classes but don’t stop learning.” But, China had also faced many hardships during the online learning process. According to Raymond Zhong, who wrote in his article published in the New York Times on March 17, 2020, “In China, many parents cannot afford to buy multiple devices for themselves and their children, even though many of the world’s cheapest smartphones – and most of the fanciest ones, too – are made in China. The nation is blanketed in 4G service, yet the signal is spotty in parts of the countryside. Home broadband can be expensive outside big cities.”

He further elaborates, “Between 56 million and 80 million people in China reported lacking either an internet connection or a web-enabled device in 2018, according to government statistics. Another 480 million people said they did not go online for other reasons – for instance, because they didn’t know how.”

Though Prime Minister Imran Khan had taken the “Digital Pakistan” initiative, which should be appreciated and encouraged, the major concern is to make it possible as soon as possible. Now, when the online learning process has been initiated by HEC which has asked universities to facilitate students through online measures so that precious time can be saved, I believe, this process would further create a class and also a rural-urban divide. The major issue being faced by the people of Pakistan, in terms of digitization, is that a vast population has no access to the internet. Even in many rural areas and the countryside, people have no access to electricity properly, where loadshedding is a common practice. In these circumstances how is it possible for all students to get the same education? For example, how can a student in urban centers have all facilities, and the other one, who lives somewhere in tribal and remote areas learn the same way?

I, being a faculty member, also support the idea that time of students, faculty, and staff should be saved, but until and unless we adopt a proper digital system, which can guaranty that every student would get distance education the same way, we will follow all instructions by HEC just as a formality. Though we do not know when we can get rid of this COVID-19, as the strategy has been adopted by the Government of Sindh seems more suitable in this regard.

The Sindh government has closed all the educational institutions till May 30, 2020. The time which is to be wasted because no online classes will be conducted, be subsidized through the cancellation of summer vacations. Likewise, still, we are listening from different unofficial sources that the educational institutions will remain closed till June, but the online classes will remain in effect. Simultaneously, the HEC officials, along with university administrations and some other concerned persons, trying their best to find a way to make the online class method effective, which is an appreciable step. Yet, as Pakistan is going to experience this digitized system for the first time in the whole country at a time, it is not easy to make it effective in a short period. Therefore, the concerned authorities should revise their policy in this regard. If they are quite sure that an effective system can be adopted soon, then definitely they should go ahead. But, it must be guaranteed that there will be a uniform education system, in which every student, irrespective of his/her class affiliation and without any rural-urban divide, would be treated equally and get education properly.

The writer has a PhD in Global Studies from the College of Liberal Arts, Shanghai University, China, and teaches at the Department of Pakistan Studies, NUML, Islamabad