A senior Delhi University official said on Tuesday that the campus cannot be reopened until the DDMA allows for 100% seating capacity, despite student demands for it to be reopened. The official also stated that a meeting will be held in 10 days to decide whether or not to reopen.
“We won’t be able to reopen until the DDMA allows for 100% seating capacity. Sixty percent of the university’s students come from outside Delhi. We can’t ask them to come here, stay in a hostel, and take online classes because only half of the available seats are available “Vikas Gupta, the Registrar of Delhi University, told PTI. He stated that they cannot make a decision on complete reopening until the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) issues clear guidelines on 100% seating capacity.
Since September 16, the university has resumed laboratory classes for final year undergraduate and postgraduate students, but attendance has been low. The reopening of campus has been demanded by students and teachers. Despite the state government’s approval to reopen schools and colleges on November 1, Delhi University has yet to make a decision on whether or not to reopen its colleges.
Before resuming offline classes, the university stated that it would wait for government guidelines. Students have taken to social media to demand that the DU colleges be reopened immediately.
The All India Students’ Association (AISA) has been on a hunger strike outside the Vice-office Chancellor’s at DU, demanding that the campus be reopened immediately. There have been reports of alleged manhandling and students being ejected forcibly from the school.