‘Not All Students are Equal, We Don’t Want Distance Education’

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

Click to read the article in Turkish

Council of Higher Education (YÖK) Chair Yekta Saraç made a statement about the further measures to be taken in higher education against the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak yesterday (March 26).

Saraç has announced that universities, which were already temporarily closed, will only give distance education for the rest of spring term.

Shortly after this decision was shared with the public, several students have protested, especially on social media. Launching a campaign on Twitter under the hashtag #uzaktanegitimistemiyoruz, numerous university students have said, "We don't want distance education."

While distance education began in some universities on March 23, some universities will start giving it as of next week.

Emphasizing that not all students have the same means or conditions such as access to Internet, a computer or an environment to study at home, several of them have said that they want to go to school in the summer break, rather than receiving distance education.

Students from different departments of different universities across Turkey have shared the following opinions with bianet:

'This term is already over for us'

Samed Karakaya, a junior student from the Department of Architectural Restoration of Afyon Kocatepe University:

"Not all of us live in cities, some of our friends live in the village. They don't have access to the Internet. There are even students who don't have a computer. When that is the case, making everyone use the same system is not the right thing to do.

"I request an equality of access. Let no one suffer from their inability to access the Internet, their lack of computer or any complexity in terms of content. Distance education will begin in our university on Monday. Our lessons are mostly based on practice. That is why, this term is already over for us, we will see what will happen next year.

"The student model they have in mind is in Oxford. It is the country of students from Van, from the prairies in Rize, from a mountain village in Eskişehir, from a district in Afyon or from a village in Mardin. It is the country of those who live in villages where even the phones do not connect, let alone having access to the Internet."

'Not all of us have the same means'

Gizay Çelik, a senior student from the Department of Journalism of İstanbul Yeditepe University:

"Not all of us have the same means, the process of distance learning will not function in the same way for all of us.

"Distance learning has started in our school, I have to connect with my phone. The Internet just freezes and I miss most of what is said. And the Internet bill is just another problem. If distance education is given, then they should also provide the Internet free of charge.

"Apart from that, several of our friends have been expelled from the dorms, they could not even take their possessions with them.

"As the schools have been temporarily closed, we, the ones staying at home, also have similar problems. All our course materials are now where we live while we are now staying with our families. We are trying to take them back, but it means yet another economic burden.

"I am a senior student and writing my thesis. Libraries and archives are closed, we cannot use sources. We have to buy the ones that are not online.

"With a good arrangement, a summer education, which is preferred for applied lessons, can also be the case for this term. In fact, we are now receiving our applied lessons online as well. We don't know how it will work."

'Medical training cannot be given from afar'

A fifth-year student from the Faculty of Medicine of Mersin University who does not want to give his/her name:

"While there are so many students without Internet or their own computers, I don't think that distance education will be equal, of high quality or accessible. I cannot see its infrastructure, either technically or qualitatively.

"Moreover, medical training is based on a mentee-mentor relationship. In addition to theoretical knowledge, we sometimes need to follow the theoretical lessons at laboratories. We also get clinical training, but we also have to implement them in practice so that, when we graduate, we can have skills, at least in basic vital issues.

"Distance education cannot ensure it anyway. What they plan is to give the theoretical training with distance learning and to give the clinical training at the hospital in May. However, we cannot know what kind of a turn the outbreak will take then. I don't think that our professors will have enough time even for the theoretical education.

"Each university and department has the conditions of its own. I will not make a general recommendation here, but the remaining internship periods of fifth-year medical students can be transferred to the sixth year or the education can continue as soon as the outbreak is taken under control."

'There is no dialogue, we cannot ask questions'

Asaf Görentaş, a first-year student from the Department of Early Childhood Education of Kastamonu University:

"In our school, virtual classes have been formed with a system called classroom. The data have been uploaded to this system and students can reach these data whenever they want to.

"But, what is problematic here is that there is no dialogue, we cannot direct our questions. We just read and move on. We don't have them, but some of our friends have applied lessons. We want this semester to be entirely transferred to summer, like a summer school..."

'How can I understand a lesson that I couldn't pass'

Bişar Arslan, a senior student from the Department of Journalism of Sakarya University:

"While I am having problems and cannot get full efficiency even in face-to-face education, we will now get distance education for the whole term.

"I have been getting a lesson on page design for two years now. I can get a note that will be enough for me to pass the class. But, my problem is not the note. I want to learn this. How will I learn it now with distance education?

"Moreover, I was doing my internship this semester, I still continue with it. But they say that, along with distance education, my internship won't be accepted and I will have to do it again in summer.

"If they don't accept my internship and make me do it in summer, then they should also give the classes in summer." (RT/SD)