Telangana colleges may shorten academic year, consider online classes amid water shortage: Reports

Hyderabad: Universities and colleges across Telangana may shift to online classes or shorten their academic year amid concerns over an impending water crisis on campuses. The Telangana Council of Higher Education (TGCHE) is exploring possible measures to minimise disruptions to students as water shortages threaten academic activities across the state. 

According to a report by TOI, TGCHE is holding a review meeting with vice-chancellors of various state universities to assess the situation and discuss measures to prevent a worsening of the crisis. V Balakista Reddy, chairman of TGCHE, told TOI that they want to take some proactive measures to ensure that students do not suffer because of the impending water crisis. Therefore, they are looking at various options, including the possibility of truncating the academic year or even switching to virtual classes. 

He said the council is considering precautionary measures as thousands of students could be affected if universities begin facing water shortages.

Telangana universities assess impact of water shortage

Several universities in Telangana have large residential student populations, making them particularly vulnerable to disruptions in water supply. Report suggests Osmania University (OU) has more than 10,000 residential students on its campus, along with hundreds of faculty members and support staff. Similarly, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad (JNTUH), including its main and constituent colleges, has around 8,000 to 10,000 students. Kakatiya University has approximately 6,000 students, of whom 2,500 are enrolled through direct campus admissions.

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Osmania University Vice-Chancellor Kumar M said the institution has started creating awareness about the impending water crisis and would follow the measures taken by the state government. Kumar told TOI that the campus is in the city and whatever the normal public faces, the campus is also going to face the same issues, and he will diligently follow decisions taken by the state to deal with the impending crisis.

He added that as of now he is not taking any stringent measures. However, in unavoidable situations, the university can always shift to online mode.

RGUKT-Basar shifts to online classes

Meanwhile, the Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge and Technologies (RGUKT)-Basar has already shifted to online classes from October 26 amid an acute water shortage and disruptions linked to prevailing El Nino conditions.

According to a report by Telangana Today dated October 25, the university revised its academic calendar and directed students from the Pre University Course (PUC)-1 to Engineering (E)-4 programmes to attend online classes from October 26. The university plans to complete the syllabus through online classes by November 17. Students of PUC-1 and PUC-2 have been asked to report to the campus on November 10, while students from E1 to E4 programmes are scheduled to return on November 18.