Srinagar, Mar 23: Facing a growing Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) crisis, the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K) is devising a mechanism to shift the regular classes to online and hybrid mode.
Top officials of SKUAST-K informed that main and satellite campuses have started facing LPG crisis. “Keeping in view the issue, we have directed the deans of the university to gear for online classes or hybrid mode of education.”
He said, “The instruction for online and hybrid modes of education is a precautionary measure, if the situation deteriorates and demands shift to online education, we must be ready for that to avoid the academic losses.”
“We are preparing a Learning Management System (LMS) for the online and hybrid mode of education because more than 65-70 percent of the students in different campuses of SKUAST-K are either residing in university hostels or in Paying Guests (PGs),” the official said.
Furthermore, the official added that for the first time, the university has introduced online registration for the spring semester session. “Earlier, the students were supposed to apply for the semester registration in the offline mode, however due to the LPG crisis we have started online registration so that the students who are currently not in the campuses can apply for the registration online.”
“If situation demands online education, it requires an online portal, we will are working on it,” the official added.
About the commencement of regular classes for the spring semester session the official said that the classes should normally start by next week. “Let’s see what the situation demands. As of now the LPG crisis are growing.”
He added, “At SKUAST-K, we have over 6,000 student enrolment and in different campuses of the university in Kashmir, at least 25 percent students are from outside Kashmir region and more than 1000 students are outside J&K.”
“We have a total of 30 hostels in different campuses of Kashmir region and on an average at least one hundred students are residing in each hostel. Moreover many students are residing in PGS,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the officials at University of Kashmir and Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) Awantipora said that they have not taken any call regarding the preparations or conducting the online classes—(KNO)
