Online chemical engineering education during COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learned from Pakistan

The development of Covid-19 epidemic into a pandemic led to great changes in education delivery modes around the globe. Online education (OE) began after the closure of education buildings. The unprepared start of OE led to access barriers, challenges, and opportunities for improvement. This work explores the scope of OE during COVID-19 in Pakistani institutions offering the degree of Chemical Engineering. A mixed-method approach was followed with a sample of 10 teachers and 1200 students from public and private sector universities. Teacher data came from semi-structured interviews by email, while students’ views of their learning experiences were collected through an online survey. The learners' responses showed that the unprecedented and unprepared shift to online course delivery lowered their motivation and interest in learning and they do not perceive the present practice as useful for several reasons. However, the teachers believed that the transition to OE helped the continuity of education, though they had to face technical, personal, social, learning-management-related, and other barriers they were not adequately equipped to deal with effectively. The results imply the need for a rapid preparation phase to enhance the effectiveness of OE during a crisis. The results may assist academics and policymakers in revising decisions regarding the great education migration to OE.