The Solomon Islands National University (SINU) on Tuesday 2nd June 2020, resumes lectures with a new normal as it seriously adopts the health practice on COVID-19. The resumption commences with week 8 of Semester 1 academic calendar.
Speaking to during the Faculty of Education and Humanities briefing this morning, Dr. Jack Maebuta, Faculty’s Dean acting, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Academic said the current situation demands both staff and students work extra hard and to go the extra miles to complete.
Dr. Maebuta stated that the number of teaching hours for each unit won’t be compromised, meaning, if a unit required 20 teaching hours, then it must remain 20 hours and the University won’t reduce that. The university strictly practices social distancing in all lecture rooms, these means that large lectures that host 300 plus students will be divided into smaller groups. Hand sanitizers and washing soaps are provided in all facilities and students are asked to frequently use them.
Since the mass lectures are now divided into smaller groups, the daily class timetable will be from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm every day so that teaching hours won’t be compromised. Other programs might require opening classes during the weekends.
This will be the new normal for SINU. It required students to be more serious than ever before, and an understanding with families that some of the lectures will finish as late as 9:00 pm said Dr. Maebuta.
The Dean Acting stated that if this new normal is too much to be handled, then it is advisable to withdraw, but if you are ready for the challenge, then we must all work hard, all of us, both staff and students, he concluded.