Students downbeat by Covid-hit campus life

These are tense times, says 18-year-old Kajal Raghav, a first-year BCom student at the Government College for Girls in Sector 52, who started going to the college

These are tense times, says 18-year-old Kajal Raghav, a first-year BCom student at the Government College for Girls in Sector 52, who started going to the college last week. She says that the importance given to social distancing and mask hygiene in college has changed the classroom experience.

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“Attending a class in Covid times is a different experience. Even while everyone is under the same roof, a sense of connection is missing. Everyone is all masked up, due to which breaking the ice seems a little difficult,” said Raghav.

However, despite the challenges, she is happy that college has resumed and is looking forward to the experience, even if it continues to be different from the “normal”.

With the beginning of the new academic session last week, thousands of first-year undergraduate students such as Raghav started their college life on a different note, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Routinely, the academic session begins in July or August. This year, due to the outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown, the new session started on November 16, after a delay of nearly four months.

While some colleges have adopted a blended model, comprising online and offline classes, others will be conducting classes in multiple shifts while adopting an odd-even formula. From classes in shifts to limited interaction opportunities, the pandemic has curtailed the overall college experience, say students.

“Masks and sanitisers have a lingering presence now. While I am becoming more familiar with the faces behind the masks with each passing day, making new friends will take time. Right now, we attend classes with minimal interaction and head back home. Hanging out with friends is difficult due to the spike in cases,” said Raghav.

Adapting to college life under the shadow of the pandemic has been particularly challenging for outstation students, who had to move bases. This has also caused uncertainty among others who were planning on moving to the city.

Mohit, of Rohtak, who is pursuing BCom (honours) at Dronacharya Government College, said that he was yet to meet or interact with anyone from his class or make friends in the new city. “We got the chance to meet some teachers this week but there has been no interaction or connection with classmates. Once we are allocated sections or added to WhatsApp groups, we might get the chance to know our classmates. In the absence of any interaction, the experience of starting college feels incomplete for now,” said Mohit, who goes by his first name.

While some colleges have made schedules for students to visit the campus two days per week, others are concentrating on online classes for now.

Eighteen-year-old Komal who was looking forward to discovering a new city after moving from Rewari now has to contend with online classes due to the pandemic. She said that while college life wouldn’t be the same with the usual activities taking a back seat, outstation students, especially girls, might be discouraged from moving cities during the pandemic.

“Starting college is akin to starting a new chapter as an adult. Beyond lessons, one looks forward to discovering new places, interests and meeting people. The pandemic upturned all our plans. I’m not even sure if my parents will allow me to move to Gurugram now,” said Komal, who is enrolled for a BSc course at Girls College in Sector 14.

She will be starting online classes next week. “I have been added to a WhatsApp group with some of my classmates. Technically, we are connected remotely, but at the end of the day, these are just unknown faces,” said Komal, who goes by her first name.

Pooja, another first-year student of BSc(non-medical) at Dronacharya Government College, said, “My school friends and I used to be very excited about college life but all our plans went awry due to the virus. Classes are not taking place in a full-fledged manner. We don’t know if our batch will have an orientation or fresher’s party like before. Due to coronavirus, campus life is very limited.”

Principals said that classroom experiences and campus life were bound to be affected due to the pandemic. Besides classrooms, canteens and student hostels will also undergo changes in view of social distancing concerns. Most colleges are yet to start canteens or hostel facilities.

“We are trying our best to prioritise the safety of students in the new session. Due to restrictions and distancing needs, it can’t be business as usual,” said Satyamanyu Yadav, principal of Government College in Sector 9.

“Until last year, we used to hold introductory sessions where teachers would be introduced to students. Students used to be familiarised with the teachers in charge of various extracurricular and sports clubs. Teachers would introduce them to sports, NCC group and other activities so that students could transition well and take up different hobbies. This year, there has been zero development on this front,” said Yadav.

He said that due to curtailment of extracurricular activities, identifying and honing the potential of students would be difficult. “Students are clueless about the various activities that used to take place in normal circumstances. Due to the restrictions and online-offline nature of classes, we have not had the chance to introduce them to new activities. Teachers are also not familiar with the interests of students. A personal connection between students and teachers is missing,” said Yadav.

Despite the circumstance, the excitement of starting a new phase of life has not dulled for many. “There are limitations but there is excitement too. The sense of association that comes with being classmates will develop with time, even if it’s through online platforms or limited physical meetings,” said Deepak Bartwal, a BSc (non-medical) student.