Karnataka exempts engineering colleges in Bengaluru from COVID-19 restrictions

With the revised order, engineering colleges in Bengaluru Urban can continue to hold classes in online mode.

The Karnataka government has exempted engineering colleges in Bengaluru Urban from COVID-19 restrictions. With this, the engineering colleges are now allowed to hold offline classes. 

In an order issued by Chief Secretary P Ravikumar, the government permitted all institutions and colleges affiliated to the Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) to hold offline classes by strictly adhering to COVID-appropriate behaviour and safety protocols. The order also allowed law firms to function at 50 per cent capacity during the weekend curfew.  

The state government had earlier decided to permit physical classes for only 10, 11 and 12 classes and medical, paramedical courses. However, after receiving requests from the VTU, higher education department and colleges, the government ordered exemption of engineering colleges from its previous order. With the revised order, engineering colleges can continue to hold classes in online mode. 

However, most of the engineering colleges have shifted to the online mode amid the rising COVID-19 cases across the country. The Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) Shibpur has asked students to leave the campus. A circular released by the institute read, “Students staying in halls/hostels may be asked to leave as soon as possible. However, if any student is not able to return home, he or she will have to submit consent from his or her parents. Such boarders...shall not be allowed to go outside the campus (except for medical purpose) without the permission of the chief warden.” 

The National Institute of Technology (NIT) Hamirpur is also back to offline mode after 81 students of the institute were found infected.  IIT Guwahati has also decided to conduct classes in online mode. It has asked all other students who were planning to return to the campus to cancel their plan in view of the sudden spike in Covid cases. IIT Kharagpur has again shifted to the online mode with a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases. 

Read more: 

• GATE 2022 Admit Card postponed again, no new release date announced 
• As COVID cases spike, IIEST Shibpur asks students to leave campus 
• COVID scare: 39 more students found infected at NIT Hamirpur 
• JNTUH postpones mid-term exams due to surge in COVID cases