Covid patients to be moved out of students hostels

BENGALURU: Hostels were among buildings that were converted into Covid Care Centres (CCCs), and from the beginning, college administrators were worried about Covid patients being admitted in these centres and the possible risk to students when they return.

Now that offline classes are set to begin from October 1, the government is contemplating shifting patients from these centres to bigger accommodations. With final-year examinations due in September, Bengaluru North University Vice-Chancellor T D Kemparaju told TNIE that they have approached the government for freeing up the hostels for students. 

Sources said that Higher Education Secretary Ramana Reddy has assured college heads and administrators that he would write to Deputy Chief Minister and Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan on the issue. However, Reddy himself was not available for comments. 

Dr Ashwath Narayan told TNIE that new Covid patients will be directed to facilities that are exclusively for them, and that hostels will be sanitised and fumigated before use. Bangalore University Vice-Chancellor K R Venugopal said that shifting of Covid patients and sanitisation work should be completed by September 5. Following this, final-year students will have 10 days of offline classes before examinations. Vasudev, from the Students’ Federation of India, said that they had approached CM B S Yediyurappa in June, requesting that hostels not be used for Covid purposes, but in vain.