Lucknow, November 18 2020: Universities and colleges that have been closed for nearly 8 months in Uttar Pradesh will be reopened from 23 November. Initially, they will be opened with an attendance of 50 per cent students. The state government also notified guidelines on the opening of universities and colleges on Tuesday. An official gave this information. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, universities and colleges were closed in the state since March. Additional Chief Secretary of Higher Education Department, Monica Garg, in her order sent to the Registrar of all District Magistrates and Universities, said that classes should be resumed in a phased manner. Classes should be organized in such a way that there is no crowd of students on campus.
Highlights of the guidelines –
· Classes can be started on a rotation basis with an attendance of 50 per cent students. All students must wear masks. Guidelines related to social distancing have to be followed on campus and in classrooms. Hand sanitizer will have to be used compulsorily.
· According to the guidelines, universities and colleges will have to arrange thermal scanning and hand wash for students and staff.
· The Vice-Chancellor and Principals have been asked to follow the SOP (Stander Operating Procedure) to run the institutions.
· Educational institutions can tie-up with nearby hospitals, health centres, NGOs and health experts to fight COVID-19.
· All students have to download the Aarogya Setu App.
· The guidelines advise parents to ensure that their children follow health protocols whenever they leave their respective homes. If their child is not healthy, do not let them out of the house.
· Only those educational institutions will open which will be outside the Containment Zone. Students, teachers and employees residing in the Containment Zone will not enter the Institute.
· Teachers have to encourage students for online learning.
· No more than 200 people can gather in a hall or a closed space.
· In classes, students will not share books, laptops, notes among themselves.
· It is mandatory to have a distance of six feet between two students.
· At the institute’s gate, care should be taken to ensure that there is no rush while entering and leaving.
· Universities will be allowed to open hostels with health protocols. Students with COVID-19 infection symptoms will not be allowed to stay in hostels. Avoiding the dining table and eating in small groups should be practised.
· Wear a mask while going to the common area.
· Swimming pools will remain closed.
· Students living in hostels will not be able to share a room.
· To deal with stress and maintain mental health, students, teachers and staff should be told about the ‘Manodarpan’ webpage.
· A group will be formed to control various issues related to the COVID-19 epidemic.
· Visitors to the campus will be restricted from entering the campus.
· New rules will be made for the use of the laboratory.
· Students coming from different places will be kept for 14 days in quarantine.
· Avoid bringing food materials as much as possible from the markets.
Universities opened for examination
Examination of the courses for students in the last year in university and colleges have already been released. Nowadays examinations are going on at the university. At the same time, orders have already been issued to run classes for laboratory and PhD holders.