Day 2 of college reopening: More students on campus, attendance to increase next week, say teachers

NEW DELHI: With more students on campus a day after colleges reopened here, authorities and volunteers were seen ensuring Covid-appropriate behaviour on Friday, while teachers expressed hope that attendance will increase in the coming week when hostellers return.

Delhi University colleges resumed physical classes on Thursday after almost two years as Covid cases dipped in the city, and this also meant good news for cash-strapped eateries and canteens as students thronged them in lunch breaks.

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"The attendance in these two days was actually more than we expected, but I believe the things will return to pre-Covid times soon," said a professor at the Hindu College. Authorities at the Gargi College said outstation students have begun arriving and the numbers will rise from Monday onwards. The university and its colleges were shut in March 2020 owing to the outbreak of the coronavirus infection.

The Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station, near the university's north campus, saw a beeline of students exiting and entering it as guards equipped with thermal scanners checked their temperature according to Covid guidelines. "I arrived in Delhi today so that I can settle myself over the weekend. I wasn't prepared for this and was hoping that classes would start from March 1. But I don't want to miss out on studies so I rushed. I will be joining college from Monday," Ritika Jain, a student of Keshav Mahavidyalaya, said.

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A number of outstation final-year undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Delhi University recently started a petition asking it to not reopen colleges as just two months are left of the current academic session. The petition started on Change.org and was addressed to the vice-chancellor, registrar, proctor, and dean of students’ welfare. "We are listening and are sensitised to the concerns raised by students on various social media platforms following the University of Delhi’s decision to reopen colleges. We have been noticing and getting calls from students about their struggles and acknowledging all the concerns raised by them," said Pankaj Arora, Dean, Students' Welfare. However, some student bodies had held protests earlier this month, demanding the reopening of campuses.