How Students Negotiated a University Closure

Abstract

COVID-19 has highlighted Pakistani society’s many nuances and profound vulnerabilities. Prior to beginning online teaching, the University of Sindh, Jamshoro organized online Zoom meetings with academic staff to familiarize teachers with distance learning through the Zoom virtual network as a platform for teaching online classes. The University of Sindh is Pakistan’s public university, where most students come from very humble backgrounds. The University of Sindh, Jamshoro is the oldest public university in Sindh province and the second largest and oldest university in Pakistan after Punjab University, Lahore. Currently, there are around 32,000 students enrolled in numerous departments of various faculties. Transformations in social networking as a result of COVID-19 often have a significant impact on an individual’s mental health. The pandemic has harmed various social structures, but our study found that it also has had significant effects on human networking, as one of Sindhi society’s most significant values is social relationships.