By Rehan Ali Khushik
DADU: Amid slight diminution in coronavirus cases in the province, the vice chancellor of Mehran University of Engineering & Technology (MUET) Prof. Dr. Muhammad Aslam Uqaili has hinted at opening the varsity on August 5, 2020 almost after long span of 5 months in order to help graduate/ masters’ students carry out their remaining lab works.
He said that the university had started conducting supplementary examinations from the students while the online classes were also in full swing.
In an exclusive interview with this correspondent, the vice chancellor said that the federal & provincial governments were thinking of opening the universities across the country in August or September, 2020, but experiencing reduction in the COVID-19 cases in Sindh, the Mehran University could be opened on or after August 5 with following SOPs stridently.
He said when it came to engineering education; the concerned universities had to engage the students in lab works whereas the laboratories’ experiments could not be taken via online mode of teaching.
“Our university commenced online classes first; this being an engineering university, cannot facilitate lab experiments online, hence we want to open our university in August in a bid to provide students with the opportunity to complete their laboratory works”, he said and added that in first phase, the masters students would be convened to the university.
Dr. Uqaili further said that the supplementary exams were being conducted online so as to enable the students to seek their degrees in time and apply for jobs in national job market.
He outlined his vision for research, quality education and practical knowledge, and that how the university can make its mark on national and international levels.
In reply to a question, the vice chancellor said that his main focus remained on quality of the research being conducted at MUET.
“I believe that quality matters more than quantity, so it is important that whatever work my students are doing as part of their research should have a positive impact on the society. With this in mind, we have been working to promote authentic research and this is one reason that our research quality has greatly improved within the last couple of years”, he maintained.
In reply to another question regarding sudden shift from conventional education system to virtual teaching, Dr. Uqaili said that Mehran University was the first one among Pakistani educational institutions to shift to virtual teaching system after the pandemic broke out and on campus classes came to a halt.
“We devised a full-fledged system to ensure that the classes go on smoothly. Proper training of faculty, both regular and visiting, was conducted online, and guidelines were provided to teachers and students to arrange and attend online classes. So far, all departments have wrapped up the semester and soon will be going for exams”, he said.
He further said that if the COVID-19 situation did not persist and it allowed, then the conventional exams would be conducted, otherwise the university will opt for online exams but he said he was optimistic that there will be physical presence of the students in August.
I’d like to make it clear that online classes can never be a substitute for conventional system of education and physical classrooms, but since the circumstances forced us into this, we had to make the best use of the available resources to keep the students in loop and ensure that their studies are not affected, he said.
In a reply to another query regarding the COVID-19 situation that if it persisted even after August/ September, then how would he deal with it, the vice chancellor said that as he had told earlier that the university was prepared for both kinds of educational systems, so he will move on with whatever the government decided.
“Since we have already wrapped up this semester and the courses have been completed effectively, I think it would not be difficult if we have to carry on with the online system. So even if, God forbid, on-campus classes do not resume in August, we will continue our academic year as per our routine, so that the precious time of our students is not wasted”, he maintained.
02-Irrigation department government of Sindh launched a massive operation against water thefts for supply of water at tail end of Johi canal, and tail end of Dadu canal.
