The senate of NIT Durgapur has decided to switch to offline classes and examination in phases from March 21 after completion of the mid-semester (even semester) examination in online mode.
A phased introduction of physical classes and examination was decided at a meeting of the institute’s highest decision-making body held last week, following a dip in cases across the country.
According to the resolution approved at the senate, special arrangements will be made to take the offline exams of the infected students, maintaining Covid protocols.
IISER-Kolkata has called a meeting of its senate on March 3 to decide on whether it will switch to offline classes and exams after the mid-semester exams in February.
Students have started returning to the campus.
Some of the central academic institutions that are based in Bengal and are residential in nature, are heading towards resumption of on-campus academic activities in phases after the Bengal government allowed resumption of in-person classes earlier this month.
According to the NIT Durgapur Senate resolution, classes in “offline mode with flexibility (some classes in online mode)” will be started from March 21 after mid-term examination in BTech, dual degree, integrated M.Sc (second year and third year), postgraduate first year and second year, integrated MSC (fourth year and fifth year).
End semester exams of these courses will be held offline from April 18 to 23.
Classes of BTech fourth-year and MBA second year will be held online.
“Since the students of fourth year are attending industrial internship, their classes and exams will be held online,” said Nirmal Hui, the Dean of students affairs at the NIT.
Anupam Basu, the director of the institute, said they have opted for a staggered resumption of on-campus academic activities so that the students can adjust flexibly.
The institute in early January had asked students to vacate the hostels following the Omicron fuelled surge in cases and suspended its plan of staggered resumption of on-campus academic activities.
Classes and end semester exams of the students of the dual degree programme (fourth-year and fifth-year) will be held in mixed mode, said an NIT official.
An NIT teacher said the resumption of off-line exams is a must for the transparent evaluation of the students.
The students will begin returning to the campus from Saturday.
Specific slots of the schedule for return involving the respective batch have been shared with the students.
The returnees have been asked to give an undertaking, stating that they have no objection to sharing rooms in hostels.
The senate of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata in Kalyani, will meet on March 3 to decide what would be the mode of classes after the mid- semester ends, said the dean of students Balaram Mukhopadhyay.
Since the mid-semester exams will be held from February 21, the students who have begun voluntarily returning to the campus from February 7, are staying at the WiFi-enabled hostels to attend classes and write exams over digital platforms.
“On March 3 the senate will meet to take a call on whether there would be a shift in the mode of academic activities,” said Dean Mukhopadhyay.