– says Vice-Chancellor

AHEAD of the commencement of the first day of classes, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana (UG), Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin has assured that everything is on track for the reopening of campuses and the delivery of virtual classes to the student population.

Due to the unfortunate circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the university took a decision to push back the first day of classes for the new semester from October 12 to November 2, 2020.

Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin recently told the Guyana Chronicle that the university is ready to begin its online classes on its slated re-opening date.

“As far as our projections go, I am informed by the Registrar, Dr. Nigel Gravesande and DVC of academics, Dr. Emmauel Cummings that we are on track. We have commenced orientations today in view of keeping that date,” she informed.

UG’s Transitional Management Committee had initiated a total lockdown at both the Turkeyen and Tain campuses because of COVID-19, but later rescinded that decision in favour of hosting online classes. While this elicited a mixed reactions from students, it later became the new “normal”.

With the recommencing of online classes a week away, the Guyana Chronicle, caught up with a few students, all of whom expressed their readiness for the new school semester .

Third Year Faculty of Social Sciences student, Stephon Gabriel, said, “I am prepared to continue online classes, because the amount of work that we can get done online now, [it] is amazing and it’s an avenue that wasn’t fully explored before.”

He further posited that, “The burden of travelling to the campus is now eliminated. You save money, and time. And now you can actually have a better time in class. Only thing that would make it better is learning on your own time, with an overall deadline. Like that of overseas online learning platforms.”

It was also noted that the university should make improvements to their online platforms for the submission of assignments and writing of exams. “We also need the human resources to be better au fait with the platforms and somewhat better prepared to handle the online era. Understandably so, this is something that the university is now working on, and errors are expected. But for a smoother flow, the mentioned needs to happen, especially when it comes to grades. Personally, the experience has not been too troubling for me, and I commend the university for its efforts,” Gabriel said.
Courtlee Rodrigues, who is about to enter his final year, says he is ready to continue his studies from the comfort of his home although he misses classroom interactions. Rodrigues would have faced varying issues arising out of the current COVID-19 situation.

When asked what the university can do to improve its services, he expressed, “While UG cannot solve the issues of connectivity to internet and also the availability of devices for all students suffering from these things…they can improve their hotlines services so that students can get help, by being more open, reliable and offer easier access to contacts that students can use for information.”

A few months back, the university, in a statement explained its plans to operate in the new semester. “65% of the University’s classes will be held Online, and the remaining 35%, mostly consisting of laboratory and field exercises, are expected to be blended and face-to-face delivered at the various campuses for specific courses, or parts of courses only,” the statement said.

The statement noted too that “The University is in the process of putting all contagion protection protocols and physical arrangements in place to address this. Students will be notified directly of the schedule and safety measures if any of their courses are expected to be face-to- face.”

The Vice-Chancellor had also, articulated that despite the COVID-19 conditions, this year has seen the largest number of student applicants ever; almost 7000 just one day after its 57th anniversary. Just over 3000 of the 7000 applicants would have received a response from the university up to that point.