Calcutta University VC directs departments to choose online/offline class mode amid heatwave
On April 27, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had asked colleges and universities to explore options in view of the scorching heat spell. The Calcutta University VC had said: “Postgraduate classes will be held online from May 2. The decision has been taken because of the heat.”
Calcutta University directs departments to choose online/offline class mode amid heatwave: VC
Calcutta University has announced that the individual department has been asked to decide whether they wish to continue with the physical classes or go online considering the heatwave condition in the state. The announcement was made by the Vice-Chancellor Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee.
Calcutta University released the clarification after the VC told reporters that postgraduate classes will be conducted online from Monday. After her announcement, a section of teachers had written to her objecting to the decision. In their letter to the VC on Sunday, the teachers wrote that the students of the university were all adults and shutting down classroom teaching “on account of heat will be definitely detrimental to their future”.
They further stated that any decision to return to online teaching at this stage will just send a “wrong signal to potential employers”, given that higher education institutions in other states with similar weather conditions are continuing with in-person classes. When The Telegraph asked Chakravarti Banerjee about the teachers’ letter, she said in a text message on Monday: “No official letter has been issued from the end of CU centrally (regarding the start of online classes). The departments can decide according to their convenience.”
On April 27, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had asked colleges and universities to explore options in view of the scorching heat spell. The Calcutta University VC had said: “Postgraduate classes will be held online from May 2. The decision has been taken because of the heat.”
Sankhayan Chowdhury, general secretary of the university’s teachers’ association, said they had written the letter to the VC on Sunday as there was no clear directive on the mode of classes from May 2.
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