NEW DELHI: Despite Delhi University colleges reopening for final-year practicals, the number of students visiting the campus was quite less. This was attributed to a large number of students being from outside Delhi. Without hostels reopening, few attended the physical sessions.
The colleges also saw low attendance of teachers as many of them were unhappy with the university order that stated that all of them, irrespective of the classes they taught, had to be present.
North Campus colleges largely bore a deserted look on the first and second day of reopening. Anju Srivastava, principal of Hindu College, said outstation students didn’t come as hostels were not open. “Moreover, we have set a schedule for students coming for their practicals, so their numbers will be less,” she added.
Ramjas College principal Manoj Khanna also said the same thing about low attendance due to a large number of students being from outside Delhi.
The staff association of Ramjas issued a statement after an online meeting where they condemned the Delhi University order of January 29 asking all teachers and staff members to attend colleges from February 1. The association asked teachers to continue with online classes till conditions entailed by the government for reopening were provided.
Teachers gave the first day a miss complaining about infrastructure issues at colleges. Debraj Mookerjee, associate professor of English at Ramjas College, said it was not just about the Wi-Fi systems as not all of them had laptops. “In our college, even the phone network doesn’t work well. The DU notice should have gone for science teachers because they announced that third-year students had to complete their practical classes,” he added.
“A lot of students in Ramjas are from Kerala and Covid-19 cases are still high there. The entry of students must be planned in a phased manner. At this point, opening hostels is not feasible as unlike St Stephen’s, others don’t have the facility. The administration should have consulted us before passing such orders,” said Mookerjee.
Amrita Dhawan, a teacher at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, said, “Currently, we are taking classes from home. If all teachers return to college, the Wi-Fi system will collapse. More than half the parents are not ready to send their children to Delhi as accommodation is not available.”
Teachers also pointed out that the university didn’t have the kind of infrastructure needed for the hybrid learning model, where online classes are held for first and second-year students.
Sandeep Sindhu, a physics student at Rajdhani College from Haryana, decided to remain absent from classes. “I’m not scared, but my parents are worried as I would have to stay in a paying guest accommodation,” he said.
Off-campus colleges, however, saw a relatively larger turnout. SP Aggarwal of Ramanujan College said, “We had a good number of students because apart from the science streams, we had practicals for management and humanities subjects too. Many BVoc students also came.”
Sourabh Aggarwal, a third-year student who attended college for the first time since March 2020, said that it was a “surreal experience”.