As the pandemic grips the nation again and the coronavirus cases are increasing, the hide and seek games of lockdowns have produced some incredible situations for all. But if a single group had to be singled out as the most adversely affected, it must be the students.
As educational closure of institutions has kept students at home for a long time, it has given rise to a whole new genre of stay-at-home education which consists of open-book exams, online vivas and a lot of other trends. But some tasks this online class system inherits perfectly from the previous system are assignment and term papers, in fact with added value, as they are perfect for a stay-at-home curriculum.
However, assignments have always been an important part of varsity coursework. A large amount of time and effort have to be put forward for a quality assignment. The question is, are they beneficial for the students at all? A common conception is that students are terrified about course commitments such as assignments and term papers. Nevertheless, some students talked about their assignment experience very sensibly compared to the popular trend.
"Students may not always be happy about it, but at least assignments make sure they are in touch with the course content throughout the year. Some term papers test our practical skills and force us to read materials beyond the textbooks," said Farzin Mumtahena, a third-year economics student from the University of Dhaka.
"Especially in these trying times of the pandemic, these activities are a good way to keep the students engaged and help them distract themselves from these tough times. But the teachers need to be compassionate towards those who cannot access the required facilities," she added.
What about the engineering students? We all have that engineering student friend, always complaining about the whole day class, assignments, lab and everything. However, positive words are often not pronounced.
"Engineering courses are structured in such a way that it keeps getting complicated, the further along you are in the course. You are expected to join every class, read the reference books and do well in exams. But the truth is, it gets tiring after a while. This is where the benefits of assignments come in. Halfway through the course when you have lost track, the assignments give you a deadline to learn the previous topics and afterward you can easily get back on track," said Abeed Araf, a third-year student at the Department of Chemical Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. He believes assignments let them know deeper into each topic.
There is no feeling like an exam getting canceled; at the same time, feelings are equally bad when those exams stay canceled for a year. Such was the case for many of those studying at public universities. Private universities had different scenarios though. At the height of the pandemic, these institutions continued their regular activities online. Even outside the pandemic, they face regular bouts of assignments and term papers. How do they feel about these types of course works?
"Every semester, we have to do case studies, assignments, group projects, etc. for each course. Since a significant portion of grade marks depends on these, there is no scope for anyone to take them lightly. The deadline for these assignments could be a jumble; however, the perks are great too. To be more specific, finding the answers to case studies and assignments helps me develop my knowledge and research skills and enables me to be more strategic," said Arka Barua, a third-year student from North South University, who is doing his major in marketing.
Courseworks devoid of any relevance with the course topic or the reality will be very useless. At the same time, if the completed assignments are not assessed properly, then they lose their value. For instance, Bangladeshi institutions do not have any standard punishment strategy for plagiarism. Teachers sometimes enforce it individually, but not always. As a result, assignments and term papers are often copied at random and those who are putting in the effort, feel discouraged.
Therefore, apart from students coming in with excellent creative thoughts, a general standard has to be maintained towards their evaluation and formulation from the teachers' end. Only then, could students reap the benefits of such class work.
The writer is a student of economics at Dhaka University.
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