New Delhi (NVI): Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) will go completely online in the next semester, for the rest of the year, as students will not be called for face to face lectures in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With this move, IIT-B has become the first major educational institution in the country to scrap face to face lectures. An announcement in this regard was made by the Director of IIT Bombay, Subhasis Chaudhuri who said the decision was made after long deliberations that went on till late night yesterday. This is for the first time ever in the institute’s history that a new academic year will start with no students on the campus.
“After a long deliberation in the Senate, we have decided that the next semester will be run purely in the online mode so that there is no compromise on the safety and well being of the students,” Chaudhuri said in a Facebook post.
He further said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has made us rethink the way we impart education to our students. To ensure that our students begin the academic year without further delay, we are planning on extensive online classes details of which will be informed to all students in due course of time.”
In his FB post, Chaudhuri has also appealed for donation for students from economically less privileged families.
“A large section of our students come from economically less privileged families and would require a helping hand to equip them with the IT hardware (i.e. laptops and broadband connectivity ) to take these online classes,” the post read.
“We have estimated that we need about Rs 5 crores to help those needy students. We look forward to your overwhelming support to help these bright young minds to continue their learning without any further hindrances or delays,” he wrote.
Notably, other IITs are also likely to follow the suit on holding virtual lectures. However, no final decision has been taken yet.
Maharashtra is one of the worst affected states by Covid-19 in the country, with its capital Mumbai having the maximum density of cases.
-RJV/ARK
