A number of college and university students are looking forward to resumption of in-person classes because their teachers are holding online classes at odd hours.
Students said some of the teachers were starting classes at 8pm.
Students at a college in south Kolkata said their private tuition classes, also held over digital platforms, were scheduled for the evening because their college teachers were supposed to take classes from 11am to 5pm.
“Some teachers are starting classes as late as 8pm. That is causing us trouble because the classes are clashing with our tuition timings. On some days we are forced to skip the tuition,” said a student pursuing sociology.
Another student said they were often informed at the last minute that the classes that were to start at, say, 1.30pm had been rescheduled to the evening. “The teachers don’t even bother to check whether the sudden change in schedule would inconvenience us or not,” she said.
The problem, students said, is rampant at some government-run and government-aided colleges where the authorities hardly monitor whether the schedule is being followed or not.
The heads of several autonomous institutions said they maintained a strict vigil to ensure that offline classes were held following the same routine as online classes.
Many students said they relied on private tuitions more than ever because classes over digital platforms were far from adequate.
A student at a college in north Kolkata said at times they took up the matter with the head of a department. “The situation would improve briefly before returning to square one,” he said. “In some cases the departmental heads themselves are not following the routine.”
Father Dominic Savio, principal of St Xavier’s College (an autonomous institution), said: “Our vice-principals are extremely vigilant. We have not received any complaints so far.”
Joydeep Sarangi, principal of New Alipore College, said the teachers were forced to shift class hours because they had to attend meetings of the teachers’ council.
“Ideally, students should be informed well in advance about any change in schedule. The new timings should be fixed following consultation (with students). If that does not happen, students will be inconvenienced. However, I have not received any such complaint,” he said.