Dengue spike: JU mulls to hold hybrid classes till Puja

Kolkata: The Jadavpur University (JU) authorities are mulling over the possibility of introducing hybrid classes till the Durga Puja holidays considering the Dengue situation in the varsity.

The interim vice-chancellor (V-C) Buddhadeb Sau on Tuesday said that the medical superintendent proposed that it would be better if the hostels were vacated.

The idea of conducting hybrid classes was also proposed by Governor C V Ananda Bose who is the chancellor of state universities during his meeting with Sau on Monday, according to Raj Bhavan sources.

Sau on Tuesday said that they are assessing if classes can be held through hybrid mode and whether the varsity has enough infrastructure to support it.

Meanwhile, JUTA General Secretary Partha Pratim Ray said: “From past experiences like COVID, we have understood that hybrid mode is not possible. Purely offline or online classes can still be considered but in the case of online, the students of the science and engineering department will not be able to access the lab.”

Concerns were raised by students coming from districts over hybrid classes with Internet connectivity being a problem.

Meanwhile, teachers said that since it’s an academic matter, it needs to be first discussed with the faculty.

The interim V-C was absent from the stakeholders meeting on Tuesday which raised concerns over its validity.

Members belonging to students’ organisations amongst others questioned why the letter by UGC or dengue issues has not been tabled as one of the agendas for the EC meeting. The EC meeting had 80 agendas.