CHENNAI: With Class XII students attending much of their classes online last year due to the pandemic-induced lockdown, colleges are worried about students’ ability to understand and learn topics at the undergraduate level. To fill the gap in online learning, city colleges are planning to conduct two week-long bridge courses to freshen up basic concepts in Class XII before ushering them into regular syllabus for 2021-22.
The colleges have, therefore, urged the government to allow them to conduct bridge courses offline while following all Covid-19 protocols. The online application and admission process will commence from July 26.
“Bridge course is absolutely essential for first year students. We will have to quickly revise the Class XII syllabus based on the programmes they have chosen. If needed, we will teach them fundamentals. Without providing that hand holding, if we teach students the syllabus, they will struggle to understand,” said Thomas Amirtham, principal of Loyola College.
Colleges will have to face challenges including low concentration levels, retaining their focus for five hours and easing them into advanced learning, he added.
D G Vaishnav College is planning to refresh both existing students and freshers since they have all undergone only online mode of learning in the past year. “Even students with high marks in Class XII may have learning gaps due to the online mode of learning,” he said.
Madras Christian College principal Paul Wilson said conducting bridge courses online will not be meaningful. “We are conducting bridge only because of the issues in online classes. Faculty members can assess the students well and understand their learning gaps only during the offline classes,” he said.
Guru Nanak College has framed a syllabus for all departments to conduct bridge courses for first year students. “Usually, we will conduct bridge courses for maths, computer science and English courses. For this academic year, we have asked all departments including physics, chemistry, botany, zoology to prepare the syllabus for bridge course to ease the transition,” said principal M G Ragunathan.
“After admissions, we will conduct bridge courses to fill the gaps. Only after this course, will we begin the regular syllabus for first year students,” he added.
Lilian Jasper, principal of Women’s Christian College, said the college is planning to conduct bridge courses for up to one week for freshers. “Depending on the subject, the duration of the bridge course may be extended to help the children refresh the basic concepts,” she said.
Courtesy – TIMES OF INDIA