The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has decided to conduct classes for the next semester entirely online, Director Subhasis Chaudhuri announced on Wednesday. The decision was taken after a “long deliberation” in the senate to ensure that there is “no compromise in the safety and well being of the students” considering the current situation of the COVID-19 epidemic.
IIT Bombay Director Subhasis Chaudhuri, through his official social media account, said:“After a long deliberation in the Senate, we have decided today that the next semester will be run purely in the online mode so that there is no compromise on the safety and well being of the students.”
Citing that a large section of students hail from economically weaker backgrounds, IIT Bombay has appealed for donations from the general public to help to provide the required infrastructure for such students.
“We do not want a single student to miss out on the learning experience for the lack of money. We have estimated that we need about Rs 5 crores to help those needy students. Our alumni have committed a good amount of support, but that is not enough for all these needy students and I solicit through this message your donations, however small it may be,” Mr Choudhari said.
The COVID-19 epidemic, which intensified in mid-March, has derailed the academic calendar with institutes scrambling to conduct classes and end-semester examinations on time. As evident by the protests against open book examination in Delhi University, online accessibility is a major challenge for students coming from diverse backgrounds in the country.
IIT Bombay now joins the Punjab Engineering College Chandigarh, or PECC, which was the first institute in the country to announce that an entire semester will be taught online.
