Circular issued by MU on Sunday
After allowing the reopening of colleges last week, the Government of Maharastra had asked universities in the state to take the final call and develop a comprehensive SOP for the same. As per the circular released by Mumbai University yesterday, there are three basic SOPs. While one of them is for college authorities and students, the second is meant for the staff of the colleges whereas the third one is for steps to be taken by college authorities on noticing Covid symptoms/positive cases. These directives were issued after a meeting of the vice-chancellor and the heads of college, at the university.
Check the details of the SOPs here
According to the circular issued by the university, institutes that are located outside the containment zone can resume offline classes. Further, as per the reports, only fully vaccinated students will be permitted to attend classes physically. Going by the directives of Mumbai University, colleges should give students an option to choose between online and offline classes. Apart from this, all the institutes are directed to possess COVID-19 vaccination certificates of each student and staff attending these physical sessions.
Reportedly, a gap of six to eight feet is to be maintained between the lecturer and first benchers. Moreover, the college authorities are asked to undertake regular sanitisation of common surfaces and office spaces as well. The order states that only those educational institutions that are located outside containment zones are allowed to remain open. As per the directive, colleges shall stagger entry and exit timings for different courses to avoid crowding. According to the SOPs, all shops, stalls, cafeteria/canteen areas outside and within the vicinity of the campus will remain shut.
The order also entails a list of measures that is to be undertaken when a coronavirus case is detected. Additionally, as per the circular, each institute must have a medical practitioner available within the campus, at all times. Moreover, in case of spotting a symptomatic person, the first step is to isolate, read the order. Further, the nearest medical facility and concerned authorities should be informed whenever a positive case comes up.
Mumbai University has a total of about 837 affiliated colleges, placed in Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Palghar, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. While some of these institutes are ready to welcome its students from October 20, others will hold internal meetings with staff and management to discuss modalities and finer details before reopening.
