At the moment NILIS is conducting 5 online courses and trying to initiate 10 more in 5 centers. These were courses that were being conducted in face to face mode but were unable to continue due to the close down due to the Covid-19 virus outbreak. There are over 10 WhatsApp groups initiated to support online learning. Some groups are even sharing teaching materials/activities until proper LMS accounts are formed. We are happy to note that nearly 300 students have joined with us to receive online education at this difficult moment.
However, this doesn't mean that we do not have constraints. Due to closure of offices, we were not able to get student records from the NILIS office and therefore had to collect everything from scratch (Those from outside the Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, and Puttlam Districts may know that we are still locked down at homes from 16th of March). We have only a limited staff due to difficulties in accessing from homes. Also, there are several limitations that the technology is imposing on us, such as avoiding peak times in scheduling Zoom meetings, limiting the size of uploads to the LMS (to 50MB), etc. With all these, we are trying our best to provide you with the best possible education.
Therefore, please bear with us for mistakes that may take place. Also, we may not be able to respond to all individual queries or requests. You may understand that this time it is difficult to respond to individual calls from students.
However, we know that you may have concerns. Therefore first try to resolve issues after talking with family members, because the family matters the most. Then talk to the class monitor (if you don't have one, please name by the vote of the majority). If the class monitor decides that the majority agrees for a particular change, he/she can talk to the relevant teacher. The teacher will contact the Coordinator and find a solution.
Thank you for your understanding!
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Ruwan Gamage
Acting Director - NILIS