Students increasingly shying away from on-campus learning

A growing number of university students are reluctant to return to face-to-face education amid the aftermath of the deadly earthquakes in early February last year and the prolonged period of pandemic-induced distance learning.

A significant cohort admits to the possibility of graduating without ever setting foot on campus, as they cite reasons ranging from newfound job commitments to dissatisfaction with the effectiveness of in-person lessons.

In many universities around the world, class attendance has dropped to record low and the situation in Türkiye is no different.

"I think there is a significant decrease even in reputable universities all over Türkiye. In departments such as economics and business administration, the rate of students not attending classes is higher than those who do," said Professor Behçet Yalın Özkara, a faculty member of the Economics and Administrative Sciences Department at Eskişehir Osmangazi University.

Özkara, who also makes educational videos on his Akademiklink YouTube channel, said, "There is a wealth of resources on the internet. Students believe that if they know English, they can learn much more online than at university. In some departments, students' belief that they can find a job with a university diploma has significantly decreased. When these two factors are combined, we experience a rapid decline in attendance."

Stating that when the number of students who do not come to classes increases, lecturers inevitably start to pass the students, Özkara said, "There are students who have passed almost all their courses and will receive their diploma without ever coming to the university. Our young people are actually studying like formal education but open education."

Özkara also provided...