University suspends classes till March 31

16/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,TIRUCHI

As a precautionary measure to safeguard students from COVID-19, the Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN) in Tiruvarur has suspended all classes and other academic activities till March 31.

Vice-Chancellor A.P. Dash, who held an emergency meeting with the deans and heads of departments on Sunday to discuss the steps to be taken to safeguard students and faculty members, told The Hindu that no one from the university had symptoms of COVID-19. However, since the safety and well-being of the students were paramount, it was decided to suspend all classes until March 31. All students had been asked to vacate the hostels immediately.

A task force would be constituted on Monday to monitor the situation. An isolation room with basic medical facilities would be set up to offer emergency medical assistance to affected students, if any. It is expected that the situation would return to normal by month-end. However, a decision on reopening the university would be taken in the last week of March.

National Institute of Technology-Tiruchi has declared holiday till March 31, acting on the district administration’s advice.