Though colleges reopened on Friday, campuses wore a deserted look with hardly 40% students attending classes. What has college authorities more worried is the drop in admissions.
At Ashoka Polytechnic, Kammagondahalli, there were hardly any students in classes. Principal Krishnamurthy said that though offline classes have now become mandatory, the attendance was still very poor.
“There are hardly 15 students in each class. Just around 50% students attended online classes,” he said. He added that admissions had dropped by 30% while readmission for second and third year had also seen a decrease. This, he said, had come as a major setback to many polytechnic and diploma colleges in the city.
Yet to register
K.C. Mishra, principal of Sambhram Degree College, M.S. Palya, told The Hindu that attendance was less than 50%. Though the examinations are to be held in March, many students are yet to register for the same. “Several students have not paid the fees and have sought more time,” he said.
He said that online classes would be stopped completely and attendance in offline classes had been made mandatory, as per directions of Bangalore University. “We are, however, awaiting directions from the university on percentage of attendance that is mandatory,” he added.
A teacher in the Government First Grade College, Peenya, said that classes for final year degree students have been conducted successfully since mid-November. “We are following the SOP (standard operating procedure) issued by the government. However, the actual attendance of students of first and second year will stabilise only after a couple of weeks. The parents and students have to gain confidence about attending classes physically,” she said.
R. Parvathi, principal of V.E.T. First Grade College in J.P. Nagar, said that there was 80% attendance of students in the final year. “We are hoping that attendance for the first and second year will come to that level over the next week,” she said and added that the college had been sharing e-content with students.
Nearly 25% students did not attend even online classes. As per UGC guidelines, 75% attendance is mandatory, whether online or offline, she said.
South Karnataka
Meanwhile, in Mysuru, offline classes for students of intermediate semesters of both UG and PG courses did not commence. The colleges plan to resume classroom sessions from January 19.
Vice Chancellor of University of Mysore G. Hemantha Kumar has convened a meeting on January 18 of college principals from Mysuru, Mandya, Hassan and Chamarajnagar districts.
“From January 19, classes for intermediate semesters will resume. The principals will be informed about the precautions to be taken,” Prof. Kumar told The Hindu .
Some PU colleges in Mysuru resumed classes for first year PU students. The classes for final year degree and PG students had begun a few weeks ago. Classes for second year PU students had commenced on January 1.
