Lockdown: Faculties of Assam University starts imparting online classes

March 30: The 21 days national lockdown has brought life to a standstill. Apart from essential services, all other establishments will remain shut during this 21-day phase of lockdown. The step was adopted by the government of India as a part of ensuring ‘social distance’ in order to break the chain and halt the further spread of coronavirus in the country. In fear of community transmission of the deadly coronavirus, all educational institutions were also closed. Though a life-saving step, yet this would mean a great loss to the students.

Keeping the interest of the students, the English Department of Assam University has started imparting online interactive lessons with the aid of Google classroom. This initiative has been undertaken both in the Silchar as well as Diphu campus. Though already, the teachers of the department were already connected with the students via WhatsApp, but with the use of Google Classroom, the students will have the extra benefit of attending classes in a virtual room. This was informed to our correspondent by Prof. Dipendu Das, Dean of Suniti Kumar Chattopadhyay School of English and Foreign Languages Studies, Assam University, Silchar.

Prof. Dipendu Das said, “It will be very difficult for us to complete the course due to the lockdown. So we decided to go online. This was also asked by the MHRD. Prof. Anup Kumar Dey of Diphu campus has also started online classes via Google Classroom and he has also added me, so now I can teach the post graduate students of English in Diphu online. In the similar way, the department at our Silchar campus has also now gone online. The teachers of the department are now taking virtual classes with the help of Google tools. I am also sure that many of my colleagues from other departments are also doing the same.”

It needs mention that many faculty members of other departments of Assam University are also involved in imparting online classes. Dr. Himadri Sekhar Das of the Department of Physics is also involved in teaching his students through Google Classroom. Dr. Deepjyoti Choudhury has communicated to way2barak that, “Many other departments are also doing online class through Zoom App and Youtube like the Department of Business Administration, Assam University.”

There are many others like Dr. Charvak of the Department of Mass Communication who too is imparting online classes through Zoom App and Google. Murali Basa of the Department of Performing Arts is also involved in online teaching. Dr, Mohuya Sengupta, Associate Professor of Ecology too is taking classes via Goggle classroom. Apart from them, the Deptt of Bengali has also informed that they too have been involved in taking online classes via Zoom app. Similar classes were also taken by Computer Science and Sanskrit departments. This department apart from using Zoom & Google platforms are also making use of e-resources from NPTEL & SWAYAM.