College, varsity students in Chandigarh advised to vacate hostels

The education department has also advised the institutions to carry out Covid-19 testing of staff and students staying on the campuses

The higher educational institutions of Chandigarh, including Panjab University (PU), have been asked to advise their students to vacate the hostels and return to their homes in the wake of a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases.

At Punjab Engineering College, of the 300-odd hostellers, only a few remain on campus at present. At Panjab University, over 700 students are residing in hostels, of which 650 are research scholars. (HT FILE PHOTO)

The decision regarding this was taken in a meeting held recently, which was chaired by the education secretary, UT administration, and attended by director higher education (DHE), deputy director of PEC, PU dean students’ welfare (DSW) and various heads of colleges.

In this meeting, it was suggested that students with cogent reasons may be allowed to stay on in the hostels. Around 300 students occupy hostels in various colleges in the city. However, many of these college students are in the process of shifting to their hometowns.

At PEC, of the 300-odd hostellers, only a few remain on campus at present. Also, over 700 students are residing in PU hostels, of which 650 are research scholars.

Record of hostellers to be submitted with DHE

The heads of institutions have been asked to take the decision with respect to each student. They have also been advised to maintain a proper record of all hostellers—their names, class, residential address, Aadhaar number—and submit the information to the DHE or to the additional secretary, technical education, by May 4.

Covid-19 testing of staff and students staying in hostels has been advised to the institutions. PU has been advised to coordinate with UT director, health services, regarding the testing. Moreover, the heads have been directed to ensure that Covid appropriate behavior is followed at all times.

In fresh guidelines issued by PU on April 30, the varsity advised that only those residents/students who have the most essential work related to research should stay on in the hostels. The students were also asked to seek guidance from their chairpersons/supervisors in this regard. In recent days, a few PU hostellers have been found to be Covid-19 positive.

PU DSW (women) Sukhbir Kaur said, “Our advice is that, since the infection is spreading fast, those students who do not have any urgent work should return to their families for their own safety and the safety of the others.”