Distance courses and exams, overwork … The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted higher education, which worries the student community a lot.
More than 20,000 young people signed an open letter supported by the Federation of Francophone Students (Fef), asking Thursday the Minister of Higher Education Valérie Glatigny for “new discussions” to find solutions suitable for all parties. The student union union (USE) requires the outright cancellation of distance examinations in higher education. For the USE, a member section of the Student Central of Youth FGTB, the distance exams amount to “organizing a session which either does not assess anything, or does not fulfill its equity function”. In addition, the anti-cheat devices announced worry the union, like the UCLouvain which plans to photograph the students during the evaluation.
Alternative formulas, such as writing a work, also do not find favor in the eyes of the student union, which points to a larger work of correction, requiring additional human resources.
The USE also refuses that the examinations relate to matter which was not seen in audience. It therefore requests the cancellation of the distance exams and the granting of an administrative mark for success (greater than 10/20) for all the courses in the semester. If this grade is not awarded, the assessment should only relate to the material seen during the face-to-face lessons, demands the union.
In its open letter, the Fef points to multiple problems that have arisen during the organization of distance courses. Thus, the supervision of teachers and the course materials have not been the same everywhere: some are entitled to podcasts, others must be content with powerpoints without explanations. Overwork has also appeared, with teachers requesting additional work for example.
Several young people do not have adequate equipment. Some have only a computer for the whole family, used by their parents who are forced to telecommute.
The closure of libraries and study rooms prevents some from having access to a quiet place to work. It is also an obstacle for the end of study work and the dissertations, note the students in their open letter.
Confinement also has a psychological impact, resulting in dropping out and demotivation. Some students are also closely affected by the pandemic, their relatives having contracted the virus.
Failure can also jeopardize the “funding” of students, notes the Fef. If a student is declared non-fundable, no subsidy from the Wallonia-Brussels Federation is granted to finance the cost of his studies. The establishment can then refuse its registration. The Student Union therefore requests that any failures obtained at the end of this quarter disturbed by the coronavirus, as well as during the summer sessions, “have no negative impact on the funding of studies”.
In their open letter, the students plead for new discussions with Minister Glatigny in order to guarantee everyone’s chances of success “despite the loss of educational supervision”.
The USE also issues claims about internships, which should also benefit from an administrative grade for success. The union also requires that no penalty be imposed in the event of delay in the submission of work, TFE and memory. If the student cannot carry out his work, an administrative note should be granted to him.
Finally, the USE requests the extension of doctoral scholarships and fixed-term contracts, the majority of doctoral students not being able to continue their research under normal conditions.
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