No winter vacation at NIT this year

Rifat Mohidin

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, December 12

The authorities at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Srinagar, have cancelled the winter vacation this year as the regular classes continue to be affected due to the continuous calls of shutdowns by separatists leaders.

Most of the students of the premier institute, located on the bank of Nigeen Lake at Hazratbal, Srinagar, belong to other states. They have not yet come back to the campus following the five-month long unrest in Kashmir that started in July this year.

“We are trying to hold classes on ‘relaxation days’ given in separatists’ protest calendar. The students from other states have not come yet. We are trying our best to compensate the losses,” said the NIT Registrar.

He said the authorities had decided to cancel the winter vacation this year as regular classes could not be held for five months.

“The exams have also been affected. The students, who have returned to the hostel, are only able to attend the classes partially due to the shutdowns. We are trying to help them out. We are going in for e-learning for theoretical work and contact classes for practical. We are trying to call the students in a staggered manner. We have also cancelled the weekend holiday on Saturday,” said the official.

Among the institute’s around 1,800 students, 1,400 are non-local. Many had left for home after the unrest erupted in the Valley.