Govt not in hurry to reopen all classes, safety first, says Minister

Based on the feedback from the management of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), colleges and universities were reopened from December 2 for research students as well as for the final-year students of PG courses in science and polytechnic courses. Subsequently, classes started for UG final-year students after a week.

However, the State government said that the reopening institutions for first and second-year students will be decided later.

Higher Education Minister KP Anbalagan told DT Next on Friday that the authorities are looking into various ways to reopen colleges for all students. “We are working out the number of students that could be accommodated per class and also the possibility of taking classes on a rotation basis,” he said.

Dismissing media reports that the decision on reopening of colleges for freshers and second-year students will be in a day or two, the Minister said the government is not in a hurry to make a decision. “Students’ safety is our priority,” he added.

Echoing similar views, a senior official from the Higher Education Department said colleges and universities should have opened between August and September for freshers. But they remained closed due to the pandemic. “The recent spike in coronavirus cases at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, and Anna University postponed the government’s plan to open the colleges. As the number of coronavirus cases has reduced and because vaccines are available now, the government would take a decision soon,” he added.

Welcoming the Minister’s statement that the government is studying the possibility of reopening colleges for the rest of the students, Professor N Pasupathy, president of Association of University Teachers (AUT) said the authorities should not be in a haste to begin classes as the pandemic is not fully under control.

“In addition, due to maintenance of social distancing inside classrooms, most of them are occupied by final-year students,” he said, adding, “therefore, starting classes for other students immediately will create issues in many colleges.”