University of Hyderabad forms task force for resumption of activities

Hyderabad: The University of Hyderabad (UoH) has constituted a task force to chalk out a clear road map for resumption of teaching-learning activities that were suspended on March 15 because of the spread of the coronavirus throughout the country, including in Hyderabad.

Through the formation of this task force, the University would like to reassure its current students and those to be newly admitted, as well as their parents that the University will spare no efforts to sustain the high-quality education that the University is reputed to offer, even while addressing on-campus health and safety concerns and issues related to online learning during the pandemic crisis.

The university said the 12-member task force to be chaired by Prof Vinod Pavarala, former Dean of the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication, has been mandated to consult various stakeholders of the university and work out an action plan for kickstarting academic activities that had come to a halt more than three months ago. This includes practical steps for starting classes for ongoing students as well as for those who will be joining the university this academic year. The task force will examine and recommend a range of teaching methods incorporating face-to-face, online, and blended modes of delivery of course content. The group will recommend appropriate measures to upgrade the institution's ICT infrastructure to be able to address the challenges of online education.

The task force will also examine the scheduling and mode of the University's annual entrance examination that is normally held across the country for admission to its various post-graduate and research programs. The last date for submitting applications for this year's admissions was June 30.

Further, this group has been asked to monitor the implementation of the decisions taken by the university on the above-mentioned matters and will remain in operation up to December 31.