AHMEDABAD: When you hear the word ‘convocation’, what comes to mind are nattily dressed students, wearing robes, and flinging their hats in the air. At the Cept University convocation which was held virtually, things turned out a little different when participants were stunned to see a shirtless youth on screen.
Realising his naked torso was on display, the youth – who was reclining – cut short his ‘accidental’ appearance by promptly switching off the camera. The gaffe raised quite a few eyebrows and left quite a few suppressing their smiles.
According to sources close to the development, officials and students were joining the online convocation ceremony on Saturday evening when a boy, resting on his side without a shirt on, was briefly spotted on screen.
University officials confirmed the incident and said it happened very briefly before the official ceremony took place. “It could have been due to human error. The institute will look into the matter,” said an official.
Education experts said that they are not strangers to such ‘gaffes’ during virtual classrooms and lectures. “It’s close to a year since people switched to online learning. But often, users who are not ‘digital natives’ are prone to mistakes: from keeping audio or video on to struggling to get the desired content on screen,” said a teacher, who did not wish to be named. “We have heard everything from toilet sounds to domestic squabbles. We have seen people playing with pets and even walking around in inappropriate clothes. But over time, such gaffes have reduced.”