Colleges, too, weigh virtual option – Times of India

Kolkata: Several colleges will go back to online teaching from next week, following a higher education department circular on Thursday, urging the institutes to either shift to the virtual platform or bring their summer holidays forward “due to the prevailing intense and severe heat wave-like condition in Bengal”.
Several universities and colleges have scheduled meetings with their teachers and department heads on Friday to take a final decision as they fist want to discuss the progress of the syllabi.
St Xavier’s College will discontinue on-campus classes after April 30. It will conduct all exams online as several students are from outside Kolkata. “Department heads will decide when they want to hold online classes as finishing the syllabus is our priority. We have decided to shift all theory papers online,” said Father Dominic Savio, principal.
Lady Brabourne College will start its summer vacation from April 29. “The decision was taken beforehand. Students won’t be coming to the campus and HoDs will decide when they want to hold online classes during the break. Several semesters started late and we must finish the syllabus on time. Some students might have to come to the campus for practical classes but only with parental permission,” said Siuli Sarkar, principal at Lady Brabourne, which will reopen on June 14.
Scottish Church College will take a decision after a meeting between the principal and teachers. “A meeting is slated for Friday, when we will decide how to proceed from next week,” said Madhumanjari Mandal, principal of the college.
Universities, like Jadavpur and Presidency, have not yet taken a decision. Teachers and students have been told status quo would continue. JU is holding offline exams for engineering. “Offline exams will continue for now,” said an official.