A special meeting convened at Kazan University on 18th March.
Among the invited officials, apart from rectors – members of the Council, were Vice-Premier Leyla Fazleeva (Head of the Tatarstan COVID-19 Response Team), Minister of Education and Science of Tatarstan Rafis Burganov, First Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Tatarstan Andrey Pominov, Rector of the Bolgar Islamic Academy Daniyar Abdrakhmanov, and Rector of Russian Islamic Institute Rafik Mukhametshin.
In his speech, Ilshat Gafurov said that according to the order of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, starting March 16, 2020, it is recommended that students be trained outside the university and use e-learning and distance learning technologies. These measures are recommended in connection with the unfavorable situation of the COVID-19 infection in order to protect the health of students and employees of educational organizations.
“We have gathered here today to jointly work out a unified strategy for the prevention of coronavirus infection in all educational institutions. We must not reduce the curriculum or decrease the quality of the educational process, so Kazan University is ready to share today its own experience in the conditions of preventing the spread of dangerous viral infections,” he said.
Vice-Rector of Kazan Federal University for Education Dmitry Tayursky reported that information has been updated on the personal pages of KFU educators. All curricula and study materials are available online. A phone hotline has been established for students and their parents who wish to inquire about distance learning.
All classes with the use of special equipment are rescheduled for April-May. If the situation deteriorates, however, they can be moved to the autumn semester. As for students approaching graduation (undergraduate seniors and second-year master students), they will be consulted individually on their on-site classes.
All educators have been asked to join Microsoft Teams to streamline their distance activities. Other communication applications can also be used for convenience.
Notably, all online classes will be conducted at the same time with previously planned on-site classes according to the existing schedule.
Vice-Premier Fazleeva reiterated the importance of a wide information campaign to help deter COVID-19. She said, “At this stage, we are working on postponing significant events or hosting them without spectators. Our task now is to increase the level of awareness and responsibility among people. The more we interact with the population, the more our colleagues, friends, and close relatives will understand how to protect themselves and others in this situation.”
Translation: Yury Nurmeev