Maharashtra government on Wednesday announced the closure of physical classes of all non-agri, private, deemed universities and colleges in the State till February 15 in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases.
Online classes would continue. Examinations would also be held online, the State’s Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant announced on Wednesday.
“We held a meeting with vice-chancellors of all the universities, Collectors and divisional commissioners to discuss the situation. We reviewed the COVID-19 situation and the timetable of examinations to be held. The Chief Minister has directed us to take a decision keeping the welfare of students at the centre and based on that we have decided to discontinue physical classes till February 15,” said Mr. Samant.
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He said the university administration had been directed to ensure that students did not suffer due to issues such as lack of connectivity or power failure. Gondwana, Jalgaon and Nanded universities had reported connectivity issues, which would be resolved after discussions with the Collectors concerned.
Mr. Samant said university hostels would also be closed after notice in advance. “Hostels for foreign students doing research and PhD, however, will continue to remain open as these students cannot go back to their native country due to visa issues.”
All universities and colleges had also been advised to start helplines to sort out problems faced by students. “Vaccination data of students should be given to Collectors and special camps must be organised for students who have not yet taken the vaccines. Our priority is to restart physical classes from February 15. For that, every non-teaching staff also should get vaccinated at the earliest,” he said.
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