Delhi University is all set to reopen for offline classes on Thursday after remaining shut for nearly two years for the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The varsity was shut in March 2020, during the outbreak of the pandemic, and since then, online classes have been taking place for all undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

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Many students who took admission at the university during these two years will be visiting their respective colleges for the first time.

The reopening of the university comes amid a decline in the number of Covid-19 cases in the national capital. Student bodies had held protests earlier this month, demanding the reopening of the campus.

Talking to news agency PTI, a student expressed excitement at having to return to the campus. “The university was shut for around two years. The online mode of study was not efficient enough to substitute the offline mode of education. It is a time to reclaim our lost years,” Gajendra Mohan Thakur, a 26-year-old Campus Law Centre student, was quoted as saying.

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Expressing a sense of fervour for in-person classes, another student said offline classes provide a better platform for student-teacher interaction and better learning.

“The last couple of years have brought drastic changes in the lives of students with a particular emphasis on online classes, although now, when lives are coming back on track, we students are super excited to join offline classes as it provides a whole new bunch of opportunities and exposure to shape our future,” Kalyani Harbola, a first-year student, told PTI.

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However, there is a section of students, especially the last-year students of graduation and post-graduation courses, who have been demanding hybrid or online classes. They feel there is no point in making accommodation arrangements for just a couple of months as the exams are right around the corner.

Many of such students have also begun a petition, stating that they should not be called back for just two months, reported PTI.

The petition, started on change.org and addressed to the vice-chancellor, the registrar, the proctor and the dean of students’ welfare, has collected over 40,000 signatures thus far, the report further stated. Source: Hindustan Times