DU students want online classes suspended for at least two weeks

After losing his aunt to Covid-19 this week, Sashwat Pandey, 17, a first-year undergraduate student of history at Delhi University, is now worried about his 20-year-old cousin who is also battling the infection

After losing his aunt to Covid-19 this week, Sashwat Pandey, 17, a first-year undergraduate student of history at Delhi University, is now worried about his 20-year-old cousin who is also battling the infection. Along with dealing with the grief and anxiety at his home in Varanasi, Pandey is also having to take time out for assignments and academic activities.

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“There is so much mental pressure. It is not humane to continue with classes at this point in time. Several teachers, who have Covid-positive family members, are having to take classes. Sometimes, the classes are cancelled at the last minute. Students too are struggling with Covid as well as the pressure of exams and assignments,” said Pandey, who studies at St Stephen’s College.

Pandey along with several other first-year students are now petitioning St Stephen’s College and others such as Ramjas College, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Gargi College, Indraprastha College For Women, Rajdhani College, and Miranda House, among others, to suspend academic activities and online classes for two weeks amid the continuous rise in Covid-19 among university staff and students.

In their application, students said “the pressure of the rushed academic calendar is forcing students as well as teachers to continue classes and academics work but in reality, the stress of not being able to attend classes and keep up with academic rigour has made the environment highly unconducive for academic activities.”

Due to several Covid-19 cases within the university, students said online classes are frequently suspended or rescheduled. Falit Sijariya, another first-year student, said, “In the middle of our class today [Thursday], our teacher received his mother’s Covid test report which was positive. He was visibly disturbed and had to suspend the classes midway. ”

Delhi university Teachers’ Association said this week, roughly 600 teachers had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

DU dean of colleges Balaram Pani said college principals can take a decision on these temporary suspensions of online classes in their respective colleges. “Principals can analyse the situation and take a call on online classes as per the availability of teachers and taking into consideration other factors. Teachers can also push the deadline for submission of assignments as per the student requirements. The university has notified principals to act as the situation demands,” said Pani.

Rajdhani College teacher Pankaj Kumar Garg said at least 18 teachers of their college are currently battling Covid-19. “The infection leaves people so weak that they are not able to speak. Taking classes in such a scenario will be difficult for them. The university must take steps to follow last year’s pattern and evaluate these [first-year] students on the basis of assessments already conducted,” said Garg, who has also tested positive for the coronavirus.

Garg has also written to the university administration requesting them to reschedule the exam for final-year students, which is scheduled to begin from May 15. “Several teachers have confided that they are not in a position to set question papers. For students without access to devices, it will not be safe to come to the ICT centres to take the exam in the present circumstances,” the former academic council member wrote to the university administration.

On Thursday, dean (exams) DS Rawat said the university was monitoring the situation with regard to the final year examination and would decide on the matter at the earliest.

Meanwhile, students of Jawaharlal Nehru University have also asked for the cancellation of exams and urged the administration to consider alternative modes of evaluation.