Although the Maharashtra Government has said that colleges in the state can reopen from February 15, many colleges are still believed to be awaiting permissions from civic authorities in their regions.
The guidelines shared by the University of Mumbai (MU) to all colleges say that they should seek permissions from the local collector’s office. However, colleges haven’t received the requisite permissions yet.
Dr Neha Jagtiani, Principal In-Charge at Bandra’s RD National College said, “All department heads at our college got together recently and we have chalked out a plan to ensure bringing back staff and students in a phased manner. A letter to this effect has been sent to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as well as the local collector’s office, and we are waiting to hear from them before announcing reopening of the institute.”
State Minister of Higher Education And Technical Education, Uday Samant said last week that colleges can reopen on Feb 15 with no more than 50 per cent capacity at any given time. Meanwhile, on the 5th of February, the University of Mumbai sent out a circular based on the recommendations of the University Grants Commission (UGC) on the reopening of institutions.
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Colleges have been asked to provide first preference to PhD and research candidates along with final-year students when in-person classes begin. The rest of the batches are to take their classes online, the circular said.
The circular issued by MU also made it clear that institutions located in containment zones should not be allowed to reopen, which partially explains the decision to require approval from the collector’s office before bringing the students back.
A principal of South Mumbai college who chose to remain anonymous highlighted some other concerns. “Ever since the state government and the university declared about reopening of colleges, we have been receiving calls from several students and parents for updates. Many are still unsure if they should be sending their children to college. And we are currently helpless because we cannot start the college until the local authorities notify us,” the principal was quoted as saying by HT.
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Colleges with hostel accommodation are currently awaiting instructions from the State on reopening their facilities. This is also because some hostels were used as quarantine centres at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education (SIMSREE) is one such college.
Dr RK Srivastava, Professor and Head of the department at SIMSREE said, “Our hostel was used as a quarantine centre by the civic body. While the hostel is vacant at present, we need a clear signal from the local collector before we can sanitise the premises and only then can we call our students back.”
Separately, the State Government is yet to provide details on local train travel permissions for teachers and students between 7 AM to 12 PM and 4 PM to 9 PM, also considered peak hours. Colleges have stated that official details on reopening will only be provided when these concerns are addressed or clarified.
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