E-Paper
Start hostel, mess facilities then we will resume research projects: PhD students to SPPU
Due to the three-month lockdown PhD students were not able to complete their research work for the thesis papers.
The PhD students of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) who have been told by the varsity to resume their research projects have demanded that the hostel and mess services should resume on the campus. They have also demanded that the academic year should be extended by four months as their research work has been affected.
Due to the rise in the number of people infected with Sars-Cov-2 virus which causes the Covid-19 (coronavirus) many students have returned to their hometown when the lockdown was announced.
“We are now getting calls from SPPU to resume our research projects, but how can we come when the hostels and mess on the campus are closed. I cannot afford to rent private accommodation,” said Nandkumar Hange, a PhD student.
“The university should resume the hostel facility in building No. 9, a hostel for PhD students, and make sure social distancing norms are followed in the campus. All necessary precautions must be in place only then we can return and resume our research work,” said Hange.
“Many of us also fear of getting infected with the virus as the number of Covid-19 cases are on a rise in Pune,” said Hange.
Pune city has reported 13,153 active cases of Covid-19 and 528 deaths as of June 23, according to the health department of Pune Municipal corporation (PMC).
Due to the three-month lockdown PhD students were not able to complete their research work for the thesis papers. They had to study the research study materials which is accessible only in SPPU libraries.
Prafulla Pawar, registrar, SPPU, said, “Students are not allowed to come to university. We have not got instructions from the state to start the hostel facility. They might have been called for fellowship work. I will look into the issue.”
