XLRI (Xavier School of Management) generally begins its academic session in mid-June with a celebration but this year is different.

XLRI will start its academic session virtually on July 6 to avoid any more delays in the 2020-21 session.

XLRI’s dean (academics) Ashis Kumar Pani said due to the Cocid-19 pandemic, the new batch will attend classes online.

“Students will attend classes virtually till we get an official order from the central government or the ministry of human resources to open institutions,” said Pani.

On whether virtual sessions will affect classroom teaching, Pani said XLRI would not compromise on its learning.

However, activities like peer-group interaction and activities like rural visits will be avoided this year.

The rural visit programme for XLRI’s new batch of students is a mandatory element of their academic curriculum where they visit nearby villages for a couple of days to experience rural life.

This programme helps them experience grassroots-level problems.

“When students come to campus they interact with each other. They are of course going to miss that. This apart there will be no compromise on learning,” said Pani.

XLRI will also start its Jhajjar campus in Haryana this year, with 120 students in the business management postgraduate diploma course.

However, the institute is awaiting some approvals from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the apex body of institutes imparting technical education.

XLRI, along with other higher educational institutions, started sending its on-campus students back home in the initial days of the coronavirus outbreak in March.

The institute also had to cancel its 64th annual convocation slated for March 21.