IIM-Calcutta has been forced to defer the start of the second-year classes through online mode after realising that 30 to 50 students out of a batch of 462 come from tier-three cities and don’t have enough connectivity.
The issue of poor connectivity was discussed in a meeting of the academic council of the B-school on Friday, which was convened to decide on the start of the session that usually commences from early June.
An emergency meeting of the council on June 17 had decided that the second-year classes could start from July 13.
The council on Friday said the session would start from August 3.
The teacher said the institute was now planning to bring the students, who lack connectivity, to the campus so they would be able to attend the online classes.
A teacher said that during the discussion it emerged that holding the classes online would not be easy, considering that a certain number of students have connectivity issues.
Parked: Private buses parked in a service road off VIP Road, near the Baguiati crossing, on Friday morning. Bishwarup Dutta
Sources said the committees, which were constituted to explore the possibility of starting an otherwise residential programme online, stumbled upon the connectivity issue while making an assessment.
The feedback was shared in the meeting of the council.
The institute now has to decide on how to bring these students, considering that there are travel restrictions.
Hunar Gandhi, IIM-C student council president, while seeking a fee waiver in his letter to director Anju Seth on June 13, had also flagged the issue of poor connectivity.
“Would it be possible to allow some students, who may be facing connectivity issues or other constraints at home, to return to campus and utilise campus infrastructure even when the classes are online? Can this process begin from now onwards as there is still a month before the classes begin?” Gandhi had written.
He had written: “Students are apprehensive about the quality of learning through online mode. Some students want to know if there is any chance classes could begin slightly later (if necessary) but in offline mode?”
Repeated calls to director Seth went unanswered. She did not respond to text messages either.
Another IIM-C teacher said poor connectivity was also troubling IIM-Ahmedabad and IIM-Bangalore students.
Jadavpur University vice-chancellor Suranjan Das had asked teachers to be “cautious” about conducting online classes as “many students may not be able to afford a computer or laptop, or may be staying in a remote village”.