E-Paper
Lukewarm response to offline lectures on day 1 of college reopening
After a long gap of 11 months, universities and colleges in Pune restarted offline lectures from Monday after the state government’s nod
After a long gap of 11 months, universities and colleges in Pune restarted offline lectures from Monday after the state government’s nod.
Despite the reopening after a long break, a lukewarm response was reported at colleges across the city by the university administration.
Some prominent colleges in the city did not reopen doors for students today and won’t restart offline classes until all Covid safety measures are in place.
A portion of students are still not willing to join classroom lectures immediately.
Ravindra Pardeshi, principal, Fergusson College said, “Our online lectures for all graduate and post-graduate courses are underway at the same time we also have a shortage of faculties in various departments and so it won’t be possible for us to immediately start classroom lectures as of now. Initially, we are starting lab practical lectures of third-year students from next week, and then second- and first-year practical will also start. At this time, lectures will be conducted through online mode only. Since the classroom count of students is large it won’t be possible to maintain proper social distancing and other Covid protocols.”
According to Pardeshi, another major issue is that hostels in the college housed two to three students in one room before Covid.
“Now, we need to be extra cautious with the safety of students and so we have not yet started colleges. We will be trying to open the college campus in a phase-wise manner and not in hurry looking at the safety of students,” added Pardeshi.
On Monday, HT visited several prominent colleges in Pune and took a review of students coming to college campus but there was an absence of a large crowd at colleges. The majority of colleges have decided to start offline lectures gradually in a phase-wise manner.
The SP College on Tilak Road conducted thermal checks of students at the main gate, while at the Modern College of Arts Science and Commerce, Shivajinagar students of the chemistry department were seen engaged in lab practical assignments and the campus of Ferguson College or College of Engineering Pune (COEP) hardly saw any students around as the offline classroom lectures have not yet started at these colleges.
MM Salunkhe, vice-chancellor, Bharati Vidyapeeth university said, “We have given notices to all our principals to follow guidelines given by state and the Central government related to Covid-19. Also, UGC guidelines are important to reopen college campuses for starting offline lectures, accordingly, now slowly our lectures will start. In some colleges, students have started coming back to college campuses, hostels and on the other hand, our planning of examination for the first semester is going on. If possible, our exams will be conducted next month. Our medical students were already there on campus and worked tirelessly during the lockdown period and still, it is going on.”
Meanwhile, to welcome the decision of reopening universities and colleges in Pune, celebrations were done by the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) student volunteers today at the main entrance gate of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU). A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the gate and the beats of dhol tasha welcomed students coming to the university campus after a long gap.
Nidhi Sain, a student from Modern College, Shivajinagar said, “We are so happy to come back to the college campus and attend lab practicals and lectures now, as earlier in online lectures we used to not understand a lot. Also, there were connectivity issues and physically coming to college, meeting friends and enjoying campus life is something different and cannot be replaced by any online method.”
