Classes in the new semester for arts and science students at Jadavpur University started on Monday. Compensatory classes to make up for the ones students had missed out on in the previous semester ended on Sunday.

Half the classes of the previous semester could not be held because the campus had to be shut down on March 16 as a precaution against Covid-19.

An official said the “distance digital mode” was being followed for holding the classes and this entailed making study materials such as notes, soft copies of textbooks, and audio and video demonstrations available to the students through email and WhatsApp.

He said teachers could hold live online classes for students with sound Internet connectivity at home.

“It is a kind of mixed mode. Live online classes can be arranged for a group sure of Net connectivity. But there has to be a backup plan for those who will miss out on online classes because of connectivity issues. No one should be left out,” the official said.

A physics teacher said he held a live online class for 17 students on Monday afternoon. “Two or three students missed five minutes’ lecture because of a snag. For them we uploaded the recorded lectures on a digital platform the university has subscribed to. We will share with them the link to the lecture,” the teacher said.

The study materials are also being uploaded on a central repository created on the digital platform.

Once the content is uploaded, the addresses of the files — in Word or PDF format, audio notes or video recordings — will be shared with the students.

Pro-vice-chancellor Pradip Ghosh said teachers were free to hold a few more compensatory classes. “We have left it to the teachers,’’ he said.

The regular classes will continue till the exams in December.

The university has raised more than Rs 20 lakh to buy smartphones and high-speed data packs for the 500-odd students who have poor Net connectivity at home.