Covid: LPU starts virtual classes, NIT to squeeze summer break

Deepkamal Kaur

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Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 14

As the state government has ordered a 18-day compulsory vacation in all educational institutes of the state in the wake of the coronavirus scare, various institutes have begun planning arrangements to ensure that the loss of working days is recovered in some way or the other.

While Lovely Professional University (LPU) has directed its students to attend virtual lectures from their hostels, paying guest accommodations or home, the Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology have decided to shrink the May-June summer break by as many days to overcome the loss of credit hours.

The state government had ordered closure of institutes from today till March 31 and the institutes are apprehensive that if the threat continues even later, there could be a bigger academic loss.

Aman Mittal, Director, Public Relations, LPU, said: “Trying to beat this period of non-teaching, we have chosen to take classes online for some time where all teachers will continue teaching through online lectures, presentations and video calls.”

Sharing the nitty-gritty, he said: “We have made it compulsory for all students to download our app — LPU Live — and the university online system. The university has developed an own messaging system in which students will be automatically enrolled once they download the app. The teachers will share their lecture notes as well as give assignments through the system. Students can also submit their assignment back on the university online system. This way, the university is trying to save time.”

He said: “There is every chance that holidays might get extended after March as well and it is essential to save the students’ time. Many of the final year students have to join their placement companies as the semester ends in May. Extending semester will be a great loss for them. Hence, we have opted for this mode”. Asked if the students had left hostels as well, Mittal said: “Most of those from North India have gone back. Many of those who are from as far as South are here. The international students too are here. Most of them are staying as PGs and we have advised them not to travel”.

Meanwhile, Dr SK Mishra, Registrar, Dr BR Ambedkar NIT said: “Our students were already on vacations prior to Holi. The hostels were mostly vacant and we informed them about the vacation getting extended due to the coronavirus spread. There are some international students and PhD students who are still in hostels and do not want to go. We have allowed them to stay here.”

Regarding loss of studies, he said, “We will recover it by squeezing the summer break, which we intend to start late.”