Five-hundred students of IIT Kharagpur who are not able to attend online classes because of resource constraints will be called back to the campus in batches from August, an official of the institute said.

Earlier this month, the students’ senate of the IIT had demanded that such students be called back to the campus at the earliest so they could use the institute’s internet facility and other infrastructure to attend online classes.

An official of the IIT said the 500 students who would return to the campus either lacked smart devices or could not afford data packs as the financial condition of their families had worsened because of Covid-induced curbs on economic activities.

“Some of these students are not in a position to buy a laptop, which is a must to study engineering drawing and lab classes. The screen of a smartphone may not be enough to figure out details of drawing or lab classes,” the official said.

“These students, of both BTech and MTech programmes, were identified based on inputs from the students’ senate, which represents all students on the campus,” the official said.

The dean of students’ affairs at the IIT, Dhrubajyoti Sen, in an email to the students on Wednesday wrote: “We understand that you are facing certain difficulties while being at home and would like to come to the campus of IIT Kharagpur to continue your studies.”

“We would like you to reach IIT Kharagpur within the following time period: 02 August — 06 August,” the email says.

The first 150 of the 500 students will have to reach the campus between August 2 and 6.

Classes have been held on digital platforms since March last year as a precaution against Covid.

“Financial constraints are coming in their way of attending online classes. They will be lodged at hostels after following the quarantine norms and other health protocols. We will bring them in batches of 150 so they can be accommodated in hostels without too much of an assembly.”

The parents of the students will have to give their consent in writing to their wards’ return to the campus.

Along with the undertaking, the students have to produce an RT-PCR negative report.

The test has to be conducted within 96 hours before the start of the train journey or 72 hours before the flight departure.