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Education minister: No physical classes in colleges till Feb 15
The Maharashtra government announced on Wednesday that all physical classes in colleges and universities across the state will be stopped and online classes will start with immediate effect till February 15
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Mumbai: The Maharashtra government announced on Wednesday that all physical classes in colleges and universities across the state will be stopped and online classes will start with immediate effect till February 15 on account of the surge in Covid-19 cases.
Examinations scheduled in this duration will also be conducted online except in Gondwana, Jalgaon and Nanded universities, as regular power supply is an issue in these districts.
“The safety of students, teaching and non-teaching staff is utmost important for us. Following the directives of the chief minister, we have decided to stop physical classes in colleges and universities until February 15. The exams scheduled in this period will also be held online. The decision on the examination scheduled to be conducted post February 15 will be taken in the coming days,” state higher and technical education minister Uday Samant said.
The minister held a virtual review meeting with district collectors, divisional commissioners and vice chancellors of various universities to assess the situation on Tuesday.
“A virtual meeting with all divisional commissioners, district collectors and vice chancellors was taken to review Covid-19. We discussed the safety of the students, parents, professors and non-teaching staff and a decision will be announced on Wednesday evening,” Samant tweeted after the meeting on January 4.
The state will allow 50% of the teaching and non-teaching staff to attend work while the rest will be required to work from home. “This is being done to ensure they are not infected with the virus,” Samant said in a virtual address on social platforms on Wednesday.
The decision applies to all universities including deemed, self-financed and private universities.
Samant said students between 15 to 18 years as well as teaching and non-teaching staff who are yet to be vaccinated must get their jabs at the earliest. “Those teaching and non-teaching staff who are yet to be vaccinated will be directed to get vaccinated as early as possible. Since the Centre has allowed children between 15-18 years of age, it means colleges and polytechnics need to ensure their first and second year students will be vaccinated. This can be done by holding vaccination camps in consultation with district collectors.”
“We want to reopen colleges and varsities after February 15 and want students, parents, teachers and non-teaching staff to cooperate with the state government by following all Covid norms so that third wave can subside at the earliest,” he said.
Physical classes for college and university students across the state were restarted on October 20 after being closed for over one-and-a-half years due to the pandemic. The state allowed fully vaccinated students to attend physical classes, but asked colleges to make the provision to broadcast lectures live as well.
City colleges welcome move
The state government’s decision has brought cheer and relief to students as well as colleges, many of who have personally contracted Covid in the last one week.
While the official announcement by the state government came only on Wednesday, several colleges had already decided to move their physical classes into online mode amidst rising cases.
“We reached out to the education department and enquired if the college principal can take a call to shut college and conduct online classes instead. Immediately, a decision was taken and staff and students were informed that classes, as well as ongoing practical exams, will be conducted online only,” said Hemlata Bagla, principal KC College, Churchgate.
Post-Christmas break, all classes starting January 3 have been conducted online and the non-teaching staff has been requested to attend college at 50% attendance only.
“Every second person in our college was under the weather and symptoms are so similar to flu, no one was sure what they had. Post-Christmas, we decided to move classes online because only a handful of students were ready to come for physical classes. I’m glad the government took the call to shut college campuses,” said Marie Fernandes, principal of St Andrew’s College Bandra. She herself is currently unwell and is awaiting her test results, she said.
In October 2021, state education minister Uday Samant announced the reopening of colleges in hybrid mode and requested colleges to bring back fully vaccinated staff and students for physical classes in a phased manner starting October 20. All MU affiliated colleges had been conducting hybrid classes since then and a handful of institutes have been conducting offline exams for smaller batches.
Recently, a handful of colleges came under fire for conducting offline classes as well as exams in January. Students of Mithibai College, Narsee Monjee College as well as the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) have been raising objections against the decision of respective college managements for conducting physical exams amidst rising Covid-19 cases among students and staff.
“There have been cases where students have caught the virus by attending lectures and despite bringing this to the notice of college authorities, nothing was changing. We are glad the government finally gave clarity in this matter and shut down college campuses,” said the parent of a student of NMIMS.
Krutika Desai, principal of Mithibai College in Vile Parle told HT that the institute has been taking all necessary steps to ensure students’ safety. “Every protocol on paper is being followed religiously and despite that, a student tested positive after failing to avoid public functions a day before exams. Our college has been insisting on physical exams for the advantage of students but now with the latest announcement, we might have to opt for postponement of offline exams,” she said
