Five of DU faculty die of Covid-19 in six days

VIJAY PRAKASH SINGH, RESEARCH SCHOLAR AT THE UNIVERSITY’S POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT WHO SUBMITTED HIS MPHIL THESIS RECENTLY, ALSO DIED OF COVID-19 ON SATURDAY

NEW DELHI: Five faculty members of the Delhi University (DU), including a department head and a 33-year-old ad-hoc teacher, have succumbed to Covid-19 in last six days, leaving their colleagues and students shocked and distressed. Besides, a 24-year-old research scholar at the university, who has recently submitted his Mphil thesis, also died of the infection on Saturday.

According to the DU Teachers’ Association (DUTA), 33 working faculty members have died of Covid-19 since March.

Among the dead, two were associated with Deshbandhu College, and two with Daulat Ram College.professor Veena Kukreja, 64, head of the department of Political Science also died of Covid-19.

Deshbandhu College principal Rajiv Agarwal said, “We have lost two assistant professors and a library attendant in the last few days to Covid-19. We are still in a shock”

Colleagues and students remember Veena Kukreja, who had teaching experience of over 35 years, as a “dedicated teacher” and “generous colleague”. In a note, officiating head of the political science department Rekha Saxena, said, “We will always remember her silent, but strong and smiling personality, who cared for every student and colleague alike. In a long career of more than 35 years, she shone as an eminent scholar, a dedicated teacher...with impeccable integrity and commitment to human values.”

In Daulat Ram College, which has lost two teachers between May 11 and May 13, principal Savita Roy said, “The loss of these two faculty members is an irreplaceable loss to academia,” she said. One of the two teachers, Chaudhary, 33, was the only earning member in his family.

The university has recently reviewed the DU Teachers’ Welfare

Fund (DUTWF) which was meant to help teachers in the time of crisis. The university will provide financial help to teachers who died after March 1, 2021, due to Covid and it has included ad-hoc teachers for an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh now.

Vijay Prakash Singh, 24, a research scholar at the university’s department of Political Science, also succumbed to the virus on Saturday. His supervisor at Lakshmi Bai College, Pinki Maurya said, “He was a resident of Delhi and the only child of his parents. We had spoken last month after his Mphil thesis submission and to discuss the PHD thesis topic and he was absolutely fine.”

On Sunday, DUTA wrote to DU acting vice-chancellor (VC) PC Joshi requesting him to extend the duration of the ongoing semester and further suspend online classes, which are set to resume on Monday. The acting V-C said, “The online classes have already been suspended in DU. We will review the situation and have a discussion with all deans and heads of departments if further suspension is required.”

Other universities in Delhi have also been witnessing the heat of the pandemic.