PhD work begins in staggered manner, college and universities in Maharashtra await government nod

Across institutions, senior-most students and those requiring laboratory work have been given priority to resume off-line research.

With colleges and Universities in Maharashtra still waiting for a nod from the state government to resume on-campus learning, the research work of PhD scholars attached with a handful of national-level institutions in Pune is slowly picking up the speed.

Since October 2020, a selected number of students have been given permission to return to the Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER), Pune, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) and Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute campuses, in accordance with the ‘unlock’ guidelines issued by the government from time to time.

At present, there are about 560 students — between second and final year of their doctoral studies — who are back at the NCL campus. “Students who volunteered themselves were encouraged to return to the campus. Prior to their return, they had to submit a mandatory consent form,” said Dr BLV Prasad, chairman of the Students Academic Council at NCL.

Across institutions, senior-most students and those requiring laboratory work have been given priority to resume off-line research. “Doctoral studies of some students should have been completed last year, but due to the pandemic, it stands extended. We are supporting them to the fullest,” said Prof Sanjeev Galande, Dean of Research and Development at IISER, Pune.

At IISER and NCL, until now the freshly-inducted schools are still performing their coursework remotely. The administrations of these institutions are, meanwhile, considering continuing the online mode in the next few months, or till there are further directives from the government.

The institute officials said students returning to Pune were subjected to undergo 14-day quarantine at the specially-created isolation facilities on their campuses. The institutes have also temporarily suspended shared accommodations and tweaked mess timings suiting to Covid-19 guidelines and physical distancing measures.

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