Maharashtra colleges and universities started physical classes on Wednesday. Educational institutions across the country were closed for over one-and-a-half years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The state government has allowed only fully vaccinated students to attend physical classes.
Students, who cannot attend physical classes in the wake of the fully vaccinated criteria, can attend live lectures online.
Last week, Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant said all the colleges and universities in the state can conduct physical classes from October 20 and students must be fully vaccinated in order to attend the classroom sessions.
The decision comes in the wake of schools across the state resuming physical sessions for Classes 5 to 12 on October 4 after being shut for more than one-and-a-half years due to the pandemic. The state government has allowed all non-agricultural colleges, state-run universities, deemed universities, self-financed universities, and colleges affiliated to them to hold physical classes with effect from Wednesday.
The state government has allowed only fully vaccinated students to attend physical classes.
Students, who cannot attend physical classes in the wake of the fully vaccinated criteria, can attend live lectures online.
Minister Samant last week said every university should issue the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to the colleges affiliated with it. Acting on the government’s directive, Mumbai University on Sunday issued SOPs for all colleges affiliated with it.
As per its SOPs, the classrooms can have only 50 per cent of students of the total capacity. Also, colleges should give the students an option for online or offline sessions. The institutes should keep a record of the COVID-19 vaccination certificates of every student and staff attending the physical sessions, according to Mumbai University’s SOPs.
