‘Risks Outweigh The Benefits’: University Of Malta Lecturers Calling For Virtual Learning Amid Cases Spike
University of Malta lecturers are calling for the reintroduction of virtual learning amid the ongoing spike in COVID-19 cases that Malta has been witnessing over the last weeks.
The University of Malta Academic Staff Association (UMASA) is urging the University for a decision to be taken to continue the remaining semester on an online basis, as it feels it is safer than continuing physical lectures.
“We feel it is better and safer to switch to virtual learning for this last part of the semester and then re-evaluate the situation for next semester,” UMASA President Luciano Mule Stagno told Lovin Malta.
While he made it clear that UMASA is in favour of in-person teaching when it can be done safely, in light of such numbers the risks seem to outweigh the benefits.
He addressed how it is near to impossible to adopt the bubble system for large classes comprised of over 50 students.
“For one thing we have classes that have up to 65 students, and as you know our students move from class to class and group to group so it is not possible to implement the bubble system being used in schools,” he explained.
He also emphasised that given the nature of the situation, with students not even having an assigned seat within the lecture hall, contact tracing is proving to be difficult and ineffective.
Apart from that, he stressed that the majority of lecture halls are not equipped for the hybrid learning system.
“There are already many students in quarantine – so their classes would either have to be virtual or hybrid – and most classrooms are not set up for hybrid learning,” he said.
This comes as Malta continues to experience the highest recorded surge of COVID-19 cases, with over 1,300 cases being recorded today.
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