City colleges ready to reopen for UG final yr students from today

City colleges ready to reopen for UG final yr students from today

Classrooms Fumigated, Lessons In Batches

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

07.12.2020

Chennai: City colleges are preparing to welcome at least some final students of graduate courses from Monday and have got ready facilities for handwashing and social distancing. They don’t expect more than half the students to turn up and some colleges have put off on-campus classes to the next semester as not many days remain for the Christmas holidays and they have also scheduled online exams.

Colleges reopened last week for post-graduate science and technology students and research scholars, but their numbers are small compared to under-graduate students.

D G Vaishnav College plans to split final year degree students into two batches to maintain social distancing. “We plan to recap the lessons of the online mode. Further, value education classes and orientation classes will be conducted,” said principal S Santhosh Baboo. The college will conduct the semester exams a week later.

Principals also said quarantining students for 14 days in hostels is impractical.

Guru Nanak College principal M G Ragunathan said they had cleaned all classrooms and spread out the seating. The college has hired additional security personnel to check the temperature of students and ensure social distancing. “We expect only around 50% of students to turn up on Monday. We will give study material to students, clear doubts and conduct orientation classes for final year UG students,” he said.

Ethiraj College for Women has put up barricades right from the gates to guide students directly to their departments. “We have fumigated classrooms and staff rooms. We have arranged for two fever rooms where the doctor will be available from Monday morning,” said S Kothai, principal. The canteen will serve only packed food. The college will conduct practicals for science students and revise lessons for arts students.

G Kirshnan, principal of Presidency College, said, “We are providing at least 10 taps in each block with running water and soap. Our old classrooms are very big and we can easily follow social distancing,” he said. The college will accommodate one student per room in Victoria Students Hostel in Chepauk.

Many engineering colleges said they have given study holidays for the final year students ahead of the semester exams. These colleges may reopen at full swing only from next semester.

Meanwhile, Anna University is preparing its hostels for UG students. “We are planning to conduct lab classes for seventh semester students (final year students) from Monday,” a university official said.

Cops warn against bus day clashes

With colleges set to reopen for final year UG students and medical students on Monday, the city police are gearing up to control any ‘route thala’ incident repeats and bus day clashes among students. City police commissioner Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal has asked officers to identify sensitive routes. “We have seen rival route groups attack each other with weapons. We warn them not to indulge in such acts,” said V Balakrishnan, joint commissioner of police, north. TNN