Colleges start collating details of students who lost parents to Covid-19
Delhi University colleges are collecting data on students who lost their parents to Covid-19, as part of a programme to subsidise their education in the varsity, senior officials said on Wednesday, a plan that was formulated in the wake of a brutal nationwide second wave of infections that claimed over 160,000 lives in April and May alone.
While paying tribute to staff and students of the university who died of Covid-19, acting vicechancellor PC Joshi on Friday said DU will work towards clearing payments due to the deceased employees and to provide “free education to all Delhi University students who lost their parents in this pandemic till they are in the university.”
The administration on Monday asked colleges to furnish information on the number of students who lost either or both of their parents to the infection.
Several principals HT spoke to said compiling the information will take some time due to the ongoing semester exams, the scale of the task, as well as the limited physical interaction with students, while others noted that several students’ will take time to come to terms with the loss of
NEW DELHI:
a loved one.
Manoj Sinha, principal of Aryabhatta College and general secretary of the DU Principals’ Association (DUPA), said that since around 2,200 students are enrolled in the college, departments will take time to confirm the numbers.
“We have asked our departments and teachers from the mentorship programme to contact the batches of students under them and find out what they need. We have also put a notice up on the college website asking students to step forward and inform us about the death of their parents so that appropriate steps can be taken to help them,” he said.
He said the institution will also analyse each case and decide on the best appropriate aid for each student, adding that some students may need non-financial aid as well.
Other institutions such as Hansraj College, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Indraprastha College for Women, and Ramjas College have sent student mails and asked teachers and departments to work on collecting the information required.
DU registrar Vikas Gupta said, “We are currently in the process of taking stock of the situation, collecting the data, and it will be a time consuming process.”