IIT Kharagpur, which had suspended calling students to the campus following the latest surge in Covid cases last month, has decided to resume the process from March.
The Technology Students’ Gymkhana, which represents all students on the campus, has started a survey to find out how many students are willing to return.
They will share the data with the IIT administration to help them fix slots for the students’ arrival and create quarantine facilities on the campus.
The authorities are also exploring the possibility of resuming hybrid classes — allowing some students to attend lectures in-person and live-streaming the sessions to the rest — from April, said an official.
The hybrid mode was suspended last month following a spike in cases.
Dhrubajyoti Sen, dean of students at IIT Kharagpur, said undergraduate students would be called to the campus from March according to seniority, starting with the ones in fourth year.
“The research scholars who enrolled last year and those who had left the campus following the latest surge will also be called. As part of the standard practice, the students who are coming have to be fully vaccinated and must isolate themselves for three days on arrival. Cases have come down to a single digit on the campus and are falling across the country,” said Sen.
The IIT had last brought 3,000 students in one slot from December 26 to 30.
From late December to the first half of January, the number of cases surged to the extent that the IIT campus had to be closed for six days from January 18 to 23.
As part of resuming the recall process, the students’ senate had last week started a survey among research scholars, BTech and MTech students.
The survey seeks to determine the number of students staying on the campus and the number of students who have not yet arrived on the campus even once.
“The details of the survey will be shared with the IIT Kharagpur authorities.
This is expected to help the administration fix the slots in accordance with the availability of the isolation facilities,” said Devaki Nandana, vice-president of the Technology Students’ Gymkhana.
IIEST
At IIEST Shibpur, the authorities have asked students in the third and fourth year to arrive on the campus from February 16.
Classes will continue to be held in the online mode in the ongoing semester but many students, especially those with patchy internet connections at home, are willing to come to the campus to use the institute’s connectivity, said an official.
IIEST chief warden Sudipta Mukhopadhyay has told the superintendents of the hostels to start the mess.
“Students must produce a negative RT-PCR test report during entry, without which no one should be allowed,” says a notice signed by Mukhopadhyay.