Mumbai News

Mumbai: College attendance sees a dip post vacation as cases up – Times of India

MUMBAI: City colleges opened to fewer students on Monday after the winter break.
Amid rising Covid cases in the city, attendance of students, which had slightly improved last month, could drop, say principals. A few colleges are contemplating going back to online teaching if cases continue to rise in the coming days but are awaiting the government’s directive. Some colleges, including Mithibai and N M, have scheduled their postgraduate exams offline in the coming days. Several students are opposed to it, given the increasing number of cases.
At Ramnarain Ruia College, attendance had gone up to 50% in some classes before Christmas. On Monday, though, fewer students reported to the college, said principal Anushree Lokur. “Some of the classes have exams, which are being taken online. For the rest, the attendance had dropped. We are following all Covid protocols strictly,” she said.
Students from St Xavier’s College have their exams scheduled from Tuesday. “We are taking the exams online. Our teachers will be proctoring the exams from the college. At least for the next 10 days, we are not worried about having students on the campus,” said principal Rajendra Shinde.
At C H M College, Ulhasnagar, attendance was poor even before the winter break. “On Monday, when we opened, we largely only saw science students coming for science practicals. Those are the only students,” said a senior faculty member. In the case of Birla College of Arts, Science and Commerce, director Naresh Chandra said there was 25% attendance on campus and most others were attending classes virtually. “Most parents are anxious and we are awaiting directions from the state government,” he said.
Principals of several engineering colleges discussed their opening plans on Monday. Engineering colleges open on January 9 and with the rising Covid cases, they are wondering if they should hold classes virtually or throw open gates to students.
“We will wait for guidelines from the government as the response from students is that it may not be safe to come to campus. There was some thought the upcoming exams could have been conducted in person. But that may not be possible, and we will have to continue online exams only,” said management council member and senior professor Vaibhav Narawde.
Colleges under Vile Parle’s S V K M group have scheduled their postgraduate exams offline, which students are opposed to. Lords Universal College, too, has issued a schedule for offline exams for second- and third-year students. Student activist Chaitanya Prabhu said students have raised concerns ranging from increasing Covid cases to not being fully immunised. “Some have themselves tested positive and some are out of station. Students from Mithibai appealed to the college authorities to cancel offline exams,” he said. College officials were not available for comment.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/college-attendance-sees-a-dip-post-vacation-as-cases-up/articleshow/88676112.cms