Thammasat University cancels classes for a week, Thai universities urged to ‘go online’

Thammasat University has cancelled all classes for at least one week, saying in a statement that they plan to resume classes again next week (below). The statement from the university mentioned the Covid-19 world pandemic and said it would co-operate to protect its students.

“All classes at Tha Prachan and Rangsit will be cancelled during March 16 –22, 2020. Classes can resume on March 23 ,2020 unless there is further announcement.”

“All faculty members, staff, and students shall be attentive to the training on online teaching and learning, which the university will announce shortly.”

Meanwhile, the Council of University Faculty Senate of Thailand is asking all universities to move their courses online as a preventative measure amid the rise in Covid-19 cases.

The council is suggesting all state and private universities “quickly migrate their classes online”. They are also advising higher education institutions to instruct staff to work from home until the end of May.

“Higher institutes are perceived as social opinion leaders. As such, we need to live up to that standard by setting a good precedent and by remaining cooperative with the government, to help control the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.”

While several universities have announced their intention to shift their courses online in recent weeks, CUFST said the number of classes which have actually moved to online learning platforms remain “limited”, according to Bangkok Post.

It is not known how easily universities will be able to migrate courses online, though to some extent students are already able to gain access to recordings of courses.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post