KARACHI: When the government of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province announced last week that it was temporarily closing down all schools and universities to try to stop the spread of coronavirus, Dr. Mustafa Haider knew he had to improvise.
The University of Karachi assistant professor sent text messages to a few of his students and asked how they would feel about continuing their lessons online. The response was overwhelmingly positive.
So, just as he has done since 2008 when he first started teaching at the university’s department of public administration, Haider continues to go to work every day — except now the classroom is empty and he uses a video conferencing software called Zoom to deliver his lectures and answer students’ questions in real time. In the evening, Haider repeats the same process at home.
“It’s an unusual way of taking classes in unusual circumstances,” Haider told Arab News on Thursday, the day Pakistan confirmed its sixth case of the fast-spreading coronavirus.
There are now over 98,000 coronaviruses cases globally and more than 3,300 people have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Pakistan, which borders China and Iran, both of which have been hit hard by the virus, reported its first two cases last Wednesday. In Sindh province where Haider lives, three cases of the virus have been confirmed by the provincial chief minister.
Pakistan, like most South Asian countries, is not well equipped to deal with any large scale emergency in case of the virus spread. Since its first case emerged, it has scrambled to shut down its border with Iran, set up thermal scanning booths at airports, suspend flights with virus-hit countries, cancel Friday congregation prayers and close educational institutes.
“In these circumstances, I conceived the idea of doing online classes,” Haider said, adding that other teachers at the university were considering following suit. “I have taken classes of 62 students at a time but the system [Zoom] we are using has the capacity to take up to 100 students.”
A spokesman for Karachi University said the administration was “exploring possible ways” to replicate Haider’s model.
“We are looking at facilities, including high speed Internet and cameras. We are exploring feasibility,” Zeeshan Azmat said.
Student Umama Saleem called Haider’s online lectures an “excellent initiative.”
“It also gives the message that we should not sit idle in the face of this pandemic and can be proactive anywhere at anytime,” she said.
“These online classes are very helpful as we study in the convenience of our homes and still discuss assignments with our teacher,” MPhil student Rubia Alam said.
Schools, however, are having a much harder time keeping up.
Sharaf uz Zaman, the president of All Pakistan Private Schools Federation, said the government needed to promptly inform schools about when it planned to allow their reopening.
“Government should inform us about future plans,” he said. “And we will have to check how many schools can afford and facilitate online classes.”
