Owing to the ongoing crisis amidst COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent nation-wide lockdown, Jadavpur University and Calcutta University, the two premier academic institutions of Kolkata have started taking online classes for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Some of the popular schools and private universities in the city too have already taken this virtual route since the last few weeks.
Jadavpur University professors are using a gaming app named 'Discord' to hold online classes from their respective homes. This app helps to connect a good number of students at the same time, requires low bandwidth and is quite effective in protecting the privacy of the students as well. Initially the teachers had used 'Skype' ap as medium but faced difficulty to connect a large number of students through this app. According to sources, the number of online classes will be increased from next week.
On the other hand, Ballygunge Science college campus of Calcutta University is using video conferencing application 'Teamlink' to hold regular classes. According to them, this is the best way to engage students in studies without any hassle during this lockdown situation.
Higher authorities of both the universities have appreciated this initiative of virtual classes from home. But as there’s no specific update on how long this situation will continue and normalcy will restore, the teaching fraternity is worried about the syllabus completion.
