Postsecondary students worried by planned return to in-person learning

Jan 24, 2022 | Headlines, News

Despite students’ growing concerns, three Ontario universities have announced they’re returning to in-person classes in the coming weeks.

York University and Ryerson University both announced on their official websites that return to on-campus classes will begin the week of Jan. 31.

The University of Toronto, meanwhile, will increase its in-person classes on Feb. 7. The university says instructors will inform students prior to that date whether they will be online or fully in-person.

Jason Baryluk, director of the College Student Alliance, told Humber News on Monday that the move is not right. He described it as kicking students while they’re down during another lockdown and forcing students who are uncomfortable to return to in-person classes.

“The pandemic is still raging on and to charge students hundreds of dollars for a missed class because they may have been sick is just awful,” he said.

“Some institutions are in a hurry to get kids back, get students back on campus,” he said.

“I do believe it’s tied to the Ford government’s announcement that they are going to be loosening restrictions at the end of the month,” he said.

In the beginning of the new year, York students signed a petition to give them the option to continue online or in-person during the winter term.

“There should be an option to continue online if that’s what the student chooses because it’s not just a public health situation, it an accessibility issue,” Baryluk said

“There’s a lot of people who may have a disability who may not have the ability to go to class every day and it causes a significant amount of stress that online learning might not be there.”

Erinma Anyaogu, a second-year Bio Chemistry Health and Science student at University of Toronto in Mississauga, said when in-person classes resume it is going to be jammed packed with the number of students in one classroom.

“My chemistry classes and biology classes, there’s about 300 to 400 of us and that’s just counting one section,” Anyaogu told Humber News on Monday.

There are two sections of chemistry. So, there’s about, 900 students, dispersed over the two sections.”

Tuition cost and missing classes because of sickness related to COVID are also pressing issues for students, Anyaogu said.

“I’m barely there. My last semester I had one class in-person, I would say that’s fine, it’s better to pay most of my tuition in that semester only because I was at school for some of that time.” She said

Baryluk is also worried that students who miss a class because of the virus could face a financial penalty.

“They are required to be there for their classes and can face financial penalties if they can’t make those classes. Now the schools will try to assuage concerns that they look at it on a case-by-case basis.” Baryluk said.

“If you are sick or you can’t make the class, for various reasons, it’s just insult to injury at this point. And really, it’s just trying to pad the bottom line of the institution”.

Colleges like Humber College right now have limited in-person classes. The majority of classes at the college are online until mid-February. Most classes are scheduled to resume in person at the beginning of March.