City colleges see an uptick in attendance on day two of reopening

The attendance in all four government colleges in the city saw an uptick on Tuesday — a day after colleges in the state reopened for physical classroom sessions

The attendance in all four government colleges in the city saw an uptick on Tuesday — a day after colleges in the state reopened for physical classroom sessions for the first time since March. Anticipating a further increase in footfall in the coming days, college authorities said they are working on implementing different arrangements for students, keeping in mind the protocols for physical distancing.

HT Image

While some colleges plan to adopt a hybrid model comprising online and offline classes, others will be conducting classes in multiple shifts while adopting an even-odd formula. Further changes in the mode of imparting lessons are expected this week depending on the daily turnout of students, said college administrators.

Around 150 students visited Dronacharya Government College for classes on Tuesday. The college will be adopting a blended model of both online-offline classes, where students from different courses will be allowed to visit colleges twice a week with parental consent. “The number of students visiting the college is picking up now. Depending on the turnout, teachers can form batches and take classes. We have capped the number of students in one class to 20 in view of social distancing norms,” said Khullar, adding that physical distancing was an important concern since exams, admissions, and classes were all taking place simultaneously at the college.

“We fear overcrowding since students from different courses and those seeking admission converge together at times. This week, our focus will be on familiarising students with the roster of their respective courses so that online-offline lessons can take place in a structured manner without overcrowding,” said Khullar.

At Government College for Girls, Sector 52, around 80 students in different courses turned up for classes on Tuesday. The college is currently operating from a temporary campus where the space is limited. As such, the college will be adopting a new mechanism for conducting classes from tomorrow.

“Around 25-30% of students came to the college for classes today. Since we have limited space, we will be holding classes in two shifts from tomorrow. Two classes will take place in the morning from 9am to 12 noon and another set of two classes will take place from 12 noon to 3 pm so that we are able to avoid crowding,” said Mohd Rafique, college principal.

Besides holding classes in two shifts, the college is also considering the possibility of recording some sessions for students who are attending online classes from home. “It will take at least a week for us to try out online-offline classes and put in a robust mechanism that works for all. We are also looking at recording some sessions for online classes once students settle down,” said Rafique.

Ramesh Garg, principal of Government Girls College, Sector 14, said that the college will be adopting an even-odd formula for physical classroom sessions, which will be live-streamed for those students who have opted for online classes. “We sought preference from students and around 50% of them are in favour of online classes. For offline classes, students with even roll numbers will visit the college on the first three days of the week while those with odd roll numbers will attend on the remaining three days. The strength of each session will be capped at 20 students. The physical classroom session will be live-streamed for students at home,” said Garg