University community asks for a COVID tracking system

As continuous coronavirus pandemic waves crash over Tunisian universities, the Union of Tunisian University Teachers and Researchers is calling for the establishment of a COVID-19 tracking system for the university community to help with evidence-based decision-making at this time.

Students and higher education experts have also called for the development of creative assessment practices to adapt to COVID-19’s challenges.

In another move to limit the spread of the virus, the ministry of higher education and scientific research has, in response to a directive from the ministry of health, ordered Tunisia’s higher education institutions to suspend all university contact activities, including teaching, exams, training and discussion of research work for a period of 11 days, which will end on 19 May.

University dormitories will open on 17 May to facilitate the gradual influx of students and the ministry asked universities to update their academic calendar.

The ministry’s decision comes after an increase in coronavirus cases indicated by the Corona Tracker that showed that Tunisia officially registered 324,823 cases of the coronavirus, including 11,693 fatalities, by 14 May. In the north African region, Morocco has the highest number of infections, followed by Tunisia.

Tracking COVID in higher education

Najmuddin Juweidah, the general coordinator of the Union of Tunisian University Teachers and Researchers, criticised the ministry of higher education’s management of the coronavirus crisis.

He told University World News that the ministry has not, despite the union’s requests, provided statistics on the infections and deaths within the university family.

“In the context of transparency, we call for the development of an e-platform for statistics and a smartphone application for real-time follow-ups on the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases,” Juweidah said.

“Similar to [the case of] healthcare workers, a COVID-19 tracking system must be established for the university community, including students, professors and employers, to monitor the real epidemiological situation within higher education institutions, including infection and death cases,” he added.

He said a tracking system would help with evidence-based decision-making in the higher education sector.

Examinations

Professor Sami Hammami, the vice president of the University of Sfax in charge of programmes, training and professional integration, told University World News that, in response to the demand of the General Union of Tunisian Students to postpone exams, the ministry has asked universities to review their exam schedules.

The student union also asked that the examinations cover only content taught during contact or face-to-face sessions.

But the ministry has not issued a directive about the content of the examinations – whether they should include only material covered online or only material taught in person.

“In my opinion, the content of the exams should cover everything that has been taught face-to-face or online. Of course, adjustments could be made to take into account cases where the lessons were not well followed,” Hammami said.

According to Juweidah, the student union’s request had merit because the ministry did not support students for distance education and those who, according to social and class disparities, do not have equal access to resources.

“We should not make the students who do not have the means to follow lessons remotely the victims of the ministry’s failure,” Juweidah added.

But he agreed with Hammami that limiting the study content for the exams to what was covered in class was not sufficient, as this would impact on what they learned and on the credibility of their degrees.

Creative solutions

Elizabeth Buckner, an assistant professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto in Canada, told University World News that COVID had set off unprecedented challenges in higher education, and it could make sense to adapt some policies.

“The proposal by the student union seems to reflect the desire to make exams more fair and equitable to students who may not have been able to access online or remote instruction,” she said.

“We know that students who live in more rural areas or from poorer backgrounds tend to be those who have the least reliable access to the internet and tools needed for remote learning,” Buckner said.

“At the same time, we must not equate exams with learning – students can learn a lot without necessarily [writing] exams,” Buckner added.

She has done research in the region and is the lead author for the 2018 journal article ‘The growth of private higher education in North Africa: A comparative analysis of Morocco and Tunisia’.

Buckner said that there may be other ways in which students could show their understanding. “This may represent a major departure from current assessment practices, but it is at least worth considering creative options during these difficult times,” she said.