After Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Friday that colleges can reopen on September 1, the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, and Jamia Millia Islamia will convene internal meetings to discuss the resumption of academic activity.
Following the university’s announcement earlier this month that it will hold physical lessons for Science stream students due to a decrease in coronavirus incidence, a group of professors expressed their discontent with the university’s decision to summon students to campus.
The university eventually postponed its decision, citing the fact that the Delhi Disaster Management Authority had not given any recommendations on campus reopening, according to DU registrar Vikas Gupta.
Mr. Gupta stated on Friday, in response to the Delhi government’s recent declaration that schools and institutions will be able to resume on September 1, that “We have an executive council meeting scheduled for August 31, following which we will arrange and hold a meeting. From September 1, we won’t be able to resume. We will open for Science students initially whenever we open.”
Due to Covid, Delhi University has been closed since March of last year, but in February of this year, final year students were allowed to return to their campuses to use labs and take practical lectures. However, because of the second Covid wave, courses were again suspended in April.
Vice-Chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar of Jawaharlal Nehru University stated the administration will consider the subject internally soon it receives an official order.
“As an educational institution, we will follow whatever instructions the government issues regarding Covid. Our students are dispersed around the country, and some may still be living in areas affected by the pandemic. We’ll give them some time to get back to us. We will discuss and plan after the government order is issued so that students are not inconvenienced “Prof. Kumar stated the following.
The university’s students’ union has been pushing for a phased reopening of campus. After a long hiatus owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools, universities, and coaching institutes in the national capital will resume on September 1.
The decision was made in light of a significant improvement in the COVID-19 situation in Delhi following a recent harsh second wave of the virus that claimed many lives, with a lack of oxygen in hospitals across the city compounding the problem.
According to a Jamia Millia Islamia official, the educational institute will wait for UGC recommendations before deciding on the commencement of physical education lessons.
“Our decision-making bodies, the Academic Council and Executive Council, as well as all stakeholders, will consider the reopening of campus. We’ll also wait for the University of Georgia’s instructions on the subject,” he said.
“We have a lot of kids from Kerala, where a lot of coronavirus cases have been recorded, so we’ll have to wait and watch. We might not be able to open hostels because we need to make sufficient meals and other arrangements,” he added.
The Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and the Ambedkar University have stated that they will abide by the official order and all recommendations. A plan of action would be drawn out in the consultation, according to an official from Ambedkar University.
