Students from the districts who found it difficult to attend online classes because of poor Internet connectivity, returned to Jadavpur University hostels on Monday for offline classes.
Many appeared in interviews on Monday that were held to select the ones who should be provided hostel accommodation. Most candidates are looking for a hostel berth as they lack financial resources to rent an accommodation following loss of family income amid the pandemic.
Raghuanth Majhi and Somnath Mandal, two postgraduate final-year students of physical education, came to the university from Kashipur under Raghunathpur subdivision of Purulia district.
Accompanied by their uncles they headed to the GC Sen Memorial Hostel on the campus. Kashipur is about 250km from the city.
“The first-year classes were held over digital platforms. The poor network in our areas posed a challenge. We were eagerly looking forward to the physical classes. We have to make up for whatever we have missed out on,” said Majhi.
The undergraduate and postgraduate final-year classes in the physical education programme will start from Tuesday.
A teacher of the department said classes in the course are practical intensive and the practical classes could not be covered through online classes. So students are keen to come to the campus, he said.
Mahmudul Hasan, a BTech student from Minakhan in North 24-Parganas ditsrict, was standing in the queue outside the Amenities Centre Building that houses the office of the Dean of students.
Mahmududul, who is pursuing the five-year evening engineering programme in civil engineering, said he needed an accommodation because he could not afford to rent one.
Earnings of his father — the sole earning member in the family — have depleted amid the pandemic.
“Since I have to attend classes in the evening it won’t be possible for me to return home. I need to stay in the hostel as it is not possible for me to stay in a PG accommodation as my father, who is a mason, does not earn as much,” said Mahmudul.
University’s registrar Snehamanju Basu uploaded a notice, detailing about the health preparedness that has been drawn up.
The notice says among other things, one temporary observation room, for students who may feel unwell, has been set up in the Amenity Centre for male students, and one in the Ladies’ Hostel in the main campus for female students.
There will also be two observation rooms (one each for male and female students) on the Salt Lake campus.