Calcutta University will decide on holding the convocation after campuses reopen for in-person classes, vice-chancellor Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee said on Sunday.

The university usually holds its convocation in winter. Over the past three years, the event was held at Nazrul Mancha in January.

“We will be able to take a call on holding the convocation once the campuses are formally reopened,” Chakravarti Banerjee told Metro.

The state government will not decide on resumption of in-person classes at colleges and universities before April, education minister Partha Chatterjee had said on Wednesday, following a meeting with representatives of universities.

“Reopening of campuses will send across the message that the risk posed by the coronavirus has subsided. The state government will take a call on resumption in consultation with the health department. So only after the campuses reopen will the university decide when the convocation can be held,” a CU official said.

CU has distributed degree certificates to those who have completed MPhil and PhD in small groups adhering to all health protocols. “The degree recipients came in small groups and collected their certificates from designated offices adhering to the health protocols,” the VC said.

Those who failed to come will have the certificates mailed to their residential addresses.

In a normal year, the certificates are distributed during the convocation.

CU also honours the honorary degree recipients and eminent academics from elsewhere in the country and abroad during the convocation. Since there is restriction on international flights because of the pandemic, academics based abroad cannot be invited, a CU official said.

“Not just reopening of the campuses, we are also looking forward to resumption of international flights before deciding on the date of the convocation,” an official said.

Jadavpur University, which usually holds its convocation in an open air auditorium on the campus on December 24, did not hold the ceremony last year as it wanted to avoid any assembly as a precaution against Covid-19. The university will distribute the degree certificates in a staggered way on the campus from February 8 to 22.

St Xavier’s University held its second convocation on the campus on Saturday with limited attendance and following all health protocols.