Mixed response from Pune colleges on first day of reopening

The state higher education department announced colleges would reopen from October 20 in the state. Several prominent colleges in Pune like Fergusson College, S P College and others started offline lectures, while colleges like Modern College remained shut

PUNE Even after getting official permission to reopen from the state government, colleges preferred to remain closed in the city on Wednesday. The state higher education department announced colleges would reopen from October 20 in the state. Several prominent colleges like Fergusson College, S P College and others started offline lectures, while colleges like Modern College remained shut.

Even after getting official permission to reopen from the state government, Pune colleges preferred to remain closed in the city on Wednesday. (HT PHOTO)

The Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) issued detailed guidelines regarding opening up of college campuses, students safety and most importantly, that only students with both vaccination doses would be allowed in classrooms for lectures.

“Though we have received the SPPU guidelines about college reopening, we have not yet started college for students. It will most probably start after Diwali vacations. By then all other safety related arrangements would also be complete. We are going to start college lectures in a phase-wise manner and have informed students to take both doses of the vaccination,” said the principal of one college, speaking anonymously.

“We have not yet started any of the offline classes as there are no clear guidelines given from the SPPU or the state higher education department. The students will be called in a phase-wise manner, initially for practical classes and later on actual classroom lectures will start. But offline lectures would start after Diwali and not immediately,” said Shamakant Deshmukh, vice-principal of Modern College of Commerce, Arts and Science, Shivajinagar.

“ None of the classes will be held online. We are following all the Covid protocols given by the state government. iIt will take a month for things to be streamlined. On the first day 80 classes of various standards from Class 11 to postgraduate were held physically in the classrooms,” said Prof Ravindrasinh Pardeshi, principal of Fergusson College.