Mysore/Mysuru: Forced to shut down due to the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown, many educational institutions of the city have resorted to online classes in order to make up for the time lost due to the lockdown.

Most private educational institutions of the city that run under-graduate, post-graduate, technical, professional and other courses, have already started virtual classes for their students in order to cover the left over portions for the current academic year, through Zoom and other mobile Apps.

As far as high school and primary schools are concerned, many institutions have appointed teachers as class-wise mentors in order to counsel their students online by contacting them and their parents through Mobile Apps. The teachers have been tasked with collecting information regarding the activities of the students and to educate them on the DOs and DON’Ts during the lockdown period.

Meanwhile,  JSS AHER (JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research),  which is one of the biggest educational institutions of the city, is learnt to have already familiarised its nearly 30,000 students to online classes. The institution has directed students and staff to download facilitating mobile apps to submit projects, seminars and assignments. Switching over to online classes using the latest available technology, the institution hopes to recover the classes lost during the lockdown period,                               according to sources.

However, technical glitches are a challenge to online classes launched by educational institutions. Owing to disturbances and technical glitches during online classes, a few college lecturers in general have complained that  they are able to complete only half of the study plan. Also, many rural students have been complaining that poor internet speed are hurting their online classes and issues regarding technical glitches need to be addressed on a priority basis for smooth and uninterrupted online classes.