The HRD ministry on Saturday advised all educational institutions to let students who are still in hostels to stay put and take necessary precautions in view of coronavirus outbreak.
"Students who are still in hostels, particularly foreign students, should be allowed to continue in their hostels and advised to take all necessary safe precaution," HRD Secretary Amit Khare said in a letter to the institutions.
In the letter, MHRD has allowed teaching and non teaching staff of universities, colleges and schools under UGC, AICTE, NIOS and CBSE to work from home till March 31.
The Ministry has emphasized on online education. "Faculty members, teachers, researchers should utilise this period for various academic activities such as development of online content, online teaching and online evaluation," it has said in a notice.
Researchers can carry on with their research work, write articles and papers while working from home. The teaching staff also has to prepare innovative questions for 'Question Bank', and innovative projects for 'Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat' and other topics.
"All faculty members, teachers, researchers, non-teaching staff should provide their contact details to their institutions so that they may be contacted in case of emergency," the letter from MHRD reads.