IIEST Shibpur has decided to recall all final-year students of the MTech programme from October 20 after the Puja break, said an official of the institute.
In the second and final year of the MTech programme, students need access to laboratories and research facilities.
The official said they carried out a survey about the vaccination status among the 300-odd students and found out that 80 per cent had taken at least one dose. “We hope that all of them will take the second jab before the recall process starts,” he said.
The institute has already recalled 189 research scholars.
A teacher of the institute said since July last year, when the students had enrolled in the MTech programme, the classes have been held over digital platforms because of the pandemic.
“If they are not recalled now, they will graduate without even visiting the campus. Besides, the MTech programme, which is largely lab intensive, cannot be covered through online classes alone,” he said.
The students’ senate of IIEST Shibpur in August had shared a list of 142 final year BTech-MTech students with the authorities demanding that they be called back to the campus to attend placement interviews or classes, because connectivity problems and frequent power outages at home were coming in the way.
No decision has been taken yet to recall BTech students, said an IIEST official.
IIT Kharagpur has decided to recall the 1,400-odd students pursuing the two-year MTech and MSc programmes, provided they are fully vaccinated, so they can attend practical classes.
NIT Durgapur is working on a plan to recall final-year students of the MTech programme after Puja.
