Return to campus life: Students express excitement

The excitement of coming back to college campus after vacations is replete with sharing stories of the holiday gone by. Only this time, the break lasted nearly 19 months, and students, while sitting in the same classroom, had masks on and observed socially distancing rules

Zikra Masalawala, first year Bachelor of management studies student at KC College, Churchgate, was towards the end of her Class 11 when the lockdown was imposed last year in March. She completed the rest of her junior college via online classes. So when college reopened on Monday after the Diwali break, she was excited at the thought of meeting her friends in college.

The excitement of coming back to college campus after vacations is replete with sharing stories of the holiday gone by. Only this time, the break lasted nearly 19 months, and students, while sitting in the same classroom, had masks on and observed socially distancing rules. (HT PHOTO)

“I was hoping to sit in the canteen with my friends, sharing stories of the last few months, while munching sandwiches. But the actual experience was not as exciting as I had expected,” said 17-year-old Masalawala. Like most city colleges, students at KC College sat on alternate benches in class. “We were not allowed to sit on the same bench. Even after classes were over, we were not allowed to spend time inside the campus. This experience was very new for all of us,” added Masalawala.

The excitement of coming back to college after vacations is replete with sharing stories of the holiday gone by. Only this time, the break lasted nearly 19 months, and students, while sitting in the same classroom, had masks on and observed socially distancing rules.

“Last year, we had not met our batchmates at all since everything was online, which made it difficult to have any kind of interaction with fellow classmates. We got introduced to many of our batchmates when colleges reopened before the Diwali break, hence meeting everyone again after the vacations was a different kind of excitement,” said 19-year-old Ashwin Mule, second year commerce student at BK Birla College, Kalyan.

Staff welcomes students

The staff at KC College had sent welcome banners to all their students and was anticipating very few students to show up on Monday, especially, with final year exams and practical sessions currently ongoing. “We were surprised to see how many first year students made it for class on Monday and how happy they were to sit in their classrooms again, instead of staring at a computer screen,” said Hemlata Bagla, principal of the institute.

While not more than 15-20 students physically attended lectures in every class on Monday, the principal hopes that the numbers will increase in the coming days. “The rule that only fully vaccinated staff and students can attend physical lectures is keeping more students from attending physical lectures. So in the coming weeks we are sure the student attendance will see an upward trend,” added Bagla. In June, the Centre announced that anyone born in 2003 (turning 18 by the end of 2021) will be allowed to book appointments for vaccination.

Although the turnout at BK Birla College in Kalyan was fewer compared to when colleges reopened in October, the excitement among teachers and students remained at peak. At the entry gate, school staff welcomed students, conducted temperature checks and provided basic Covid protocols to be followed. “The circumstances under which we met on Monday was completely different, we could not let ourselves at ease and had to be alert to maintain social distance at all times. But to meet teachers and the school staff who had the same enthusiasm as us was very exciting,” said Rudra Pratap Singh, 20-year-old student of vocational course, BK Birla College.

Students were excited to return to offline mode, as during this period, the colleges organise various intercollegiate competitions and festivals. “We hope at least these are conducted on a small scale. We were deprived of such activities amid the pandemic,” said Vartika Sharma, a third year Arts student. Birla College is currently following the hybrid model and students who have practicals are attending batch wise.

“During online sessions or in the hybrid mode, often there is a lag in response due to connectivity problems. This makes it difficult to comprehend if the student has understood or they have any doubts. After 19 months of conducting lectures online, this was a welcome change,” said Nitin Barve, professor, BK Birla College, Kalyan.