Under the COVID-19 outbreak, universities and schools around the world had suspended face-to-face classes to prevent the rapid spread of the virus among students and staff. This sudden disruption to face-to-face education reshaped pedagogical practices and led to the rapid adoption of online teaching among universities. Subsequently, academics working at universities, at the frontline of those changes, faced enormous levels of pressure and disturbance to their professional roles and practices. For those without sufficient knowledge or experience for effective online teaching, this sudden transition was particularly challenging. In normal circumstances, designing an online course follows a systematic instructional design process with careful consideration of the unique characteristics of target learner groups and the chosen instructional medium. During the rapid adoption of online teaching in response to COVID-19, however, systematic instructional design procedures and team-based support for course development and preparation were unavailable. Instead, individual academics were given the challenge alone to teach online with a limited level of support and guidance from their school or university – the task was even more difficult in this situation where they were remotely working from home.

What suitable policy decision should be devised by the administrators of the schools and the universities, in the light of the facts presented in the paragraph?

Correct Option: there must be an insight into the complexity of online teaching and need to work for the capacity building of the teachers during such extra ordinary times and there is a greater need to create a teacher community and foster collaborative teaching relationships among the members, even if it takes time.

Step-by-step Explanation:

1. Analyzing the passage context:
The passage highlights how the sudden shift to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic left academics isolated, lacking necessary knowledge, experience, systematic instructional design procedures, and team-based support. They were tasked with transitioning to online teaching independently from home with minimal institutional guidance.

2. Evaluating the policy requirement:
To address these specific challenges, administrators must institute policies that tackle the root issues identified:
- Capacity Building: Teachers need support and training to build their technical and pedagogical skills for online education.
- Community & Collaboration: Since the passage notes that team-based support was missing and teachers felt isolated working alone, establishing collaborative teacher communities restores peer support and collective course development.

3. Conclusion:
Therefore, the most suitable policy decision is to gain insight into the complexity of online teaching, focus on capacity building for faculty, and cultivate collaborative teacher communities to ensure sustainable and effective educational delivery.