Constraints to Online Teaching in Institutes of Higher Education during Pandemic COVID-19: A Case Study of CUI, Abbottabad Pakistan

Abstract

In response to rapid spread of COVID-19 Novel Corona Virus, all the economic and social activities were ceased at national level. Educational institutes were the first to be locked down and universities were asked to deliver online courses. This was received with resistance from students and academic experts with claims that universities neither have the capacity to deliver online courses due to lack of adequately trained faculty members nor does the country have supportive infrastructure in the form of availability of internet across the country. The study was intended to understand the constraints faced by these university students who were offered online courses in the first phase. The data was collected from graduate students enrolled in social science department along with teaching faculty members. Questionnaires followed by in-depth interviews were used to collect the data from a sample of 16 students along with 4 faculty members and representative of technical team of the university. A FGD was conducted with the university management. Results showed that poor connectivity of internet, communication gap that is inherent to online education due to absence of physical class room environment and over exposure to screen is considered as the major constraint to online education. But with the passage of time acceptability to online education is increasing and students also see the positive dimensions of online education now and the start of second phase of online education seems much smooth now