Colleges reopen to poor response in Malwa, Doaba
Less than 10% of students attended classes at private and govt institutes in Bathinda
BATHINDA: Ten months after higher education institutions in the state were shut due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the response was poor in Malwa and Doaba region on the first day of reopening on Thursday.
Less than 10% of the students reported for classes at private and government institutes in Bathinda and nearby districts.
Government Rajindra College principal Surjit Singh said of the 4,300 students, less than 10% attended college on Thursday.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Technical University registrar Gurinder Pal Singh said classes would begin from February as exams are underway. The university has announced it will allot hostel rooms to students who live more than 40 km from the campus.
Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal, the chairperson of the Baba Farid Group of Institutions with
nearly 10,000 students said it is difficult to implement the state government’s decision to resume higher institutes fully.
Colleges in Jalandhar too saw low attendance on the first day 1 of the college and university reopening.
Day 1 saw 20-25% attendance witnessed in girls colleges including HMV and KMV, Jalandhar whereas 40% attendance was observed in the co-educational colleges includes Lyallpur Khalsa college, Apeejay college and other in Jalandhar.
Officials added that first or second year students had reported to their institutions in low numbers, and hoped they will rejoin soon. Many colleges have yet to start their own transportation services which is also one of the reasons behind low attendance
ONLINE AND OFFLINE MODES ADD
TO PRESSURE
The state government’s directive is with a rider that students will be allowed to take classes according to their choice and no institute should compel them to attend the classes physically.
“It is not possible to run both offline and online mode for classes or exams with the given strength of teachers and facilities. Teachers have expressed concern over holding offline classes when the pandemic is still not over,” he said.