Some DU colleges planning to hold classes in hybrid mode for first-year students

NEW DELHI: With the exams for first-year Delhi University students slated for next month, some colleges are planning to hold classes in hybrid mode, giving students the option to choose from their preferred mode. DU colleges are set to reopen and resume offline classes from February 17.

Some colleges, including Miranda House, will be holding classes for the first-year students in hybrid format, while second and third year students will have to attend classes in person. "We will have a blended/hybrid mode of education and students will be provided academic support to ease stress," Miranda House Principal Bijayalaxmi Nanda told PTI. She said second and third year students will study in offline mode but they will also be provided with academic support through online materials.

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Upcoming exams are the reason why first-year students will be given a choice to attend online classes. "We have received maximum requests from them (for offline classes). Secondly, they have only 20 days of online exams," Nanda answered when asked about it. Similarly, Rajdhani College will be holding only online classes for first-year students.

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Aryabhatta College principal Manoj Sinha said there will not be any pressure on students to attend classes and they are trying to ensure that students can be provided recorded lectures online. "We are thinking of solutions like providing lectures online, besides trying to provide technical support to students," he said. Even Hansraj College has plans to offer hybrid mode of studies to first-year students.

Delhi University colleges were closed in March, 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The university had given a go-ahead to the resumption of practical sessions in February last year, but after the emergence of the second wave, classes were suspended in March. In September, the university allowed final year undergraduate and postgraduate students to return to campus, but the attendance was thin.