Maharashtra: Make rule mandating virtual classes on video mode, say officials

Academicians cyber experts and higher and technical education officials who were recently invited to Nagpur University to speak on cyber awareness and discipline in higher education institutes discussed the need for inculcating cyber etiquette among students and faculty for online lessons especially in lieu of instances of misuseOfficials from Mumbai and Pune universities said inculcation of cyber discipline needs to be done at the college level by respective principal They said students must be asked to keep their video turned on during classes and made to follow stringent dress code and cyber etiquettesDr Subhash R Chaudhari vice chancellor Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University said ldquoWe have already inculcated a practice of using webex platforms for our online teaching programs Also we ensure that both students and faculty keep their videos on during the sessions and encourage interactive teaching sessions for better understanding of syllabusrdquoldquoCovid19 has increased the need for technology in education so a safe cyber space and ensure that everyone adheres to cyber etiquettes need to be also part of our learning and also good governance for the collegesrdquo explained ChaudhariAlso read Mumbai Vile Parle school officials booked over picnics during lockdownColleges must frame rulesNitin Karmalkar vice chancellor Savitribai Phule Pune University said ldquoItrsquos important to have an interface between the faculty and students especially those attending graduation postgraduation and professional courses through online medium However at university level we have not issued any circular on the same but this needs to be done at the college level where the principal or the course coordinator can exercise their power and formulate the cyber etiquette and guidelinesrdquo ldquoAlso we had earlier discussed that certain students or working professionals in remote areas might have difficulty in keeping the video on either due to low internet connectivity or travel issues Such students should inform their college in writing so that they could get exemption as per college norms for keeping video off and listening to the lecturerdquo said KarmalkarProfessor Baliram Gaikwad registrar Mumbai University agreed that itrsquos important to frame such guidelines ldquoWe have come across students concerned about exhausting the data as they use mobile connectivity for classes Such students even working students can give an application from their faculty or class guardians with supporting covering letters so they could get some concession for attending a few classes without videordquo Gaikwad added ldquoWe need to come up with a separate interface for studentsrsquo grievances and help them resolve their issues at the earliestrdquoEnsure therersquos no misuseAjay Patil principal D Y Patil College of Law Navi Mumbai said ldquoWe are in the process of inculcating cyber etiquettes for both the Bachelor of Legal Science and Bachelor of Law and our regular LLB students and will be finalising the same soon Though we have already issued directives to students to keep their video on while the class is in sessionrdquoKeeping the video on would ensure smooth twoway communication between students and faculty and it would help the faculty understand who is attentive Patil addedSanjay Shintre superintendent of police Maharashtra Cyber Mumbai said ldquoIt is always a good practice in any virtual educational platform to keep the video on so that there is a direct interactive session between the faculty and students It is up to the college to come up with their own cyber safety guidelines It would also help maintain the attendance records and class decorumrdquoBar Council of India saysSenior Advocate Manan Kumar Mishra chairman Bar Council of India said ldquoLaw colleges can formulate their own internal guidelines for conducting online regular law classes and have proper cyber etiquette in place for students and facultyrdquo