After almost two years, the students of Delhi University (DU) came to college and attended classes on Thursday. The varsity was shut in March 2020 owing to the breakout of the Covid pandemic.
Since morning on Thursday, the Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station, the nearest such, swarmed with students as they headed to their colleges located in the North Campus, where they were greeted by guards bearing thermal scanners in their hands. The students were also seen showering flowers at the entrance gate.
While there was a good turnout of students from the national Capital, attendance from other States was low, with their numbers only expected to pick up from next week.
Principals, however, said the turnout was better than their expectations. According to teachers, attendance was higher among second year students than the first year students.
“I was excited to go back to the campus. The university was shut for around two years and 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,” said Nirbhay (21), a law student.
The first year students were seen filled with joy and excitement as the campus opened. “The reopening of campus brought her life back on track. We are super excited to join offline classes as it provides a whole new bunch of opportunities and exposure to shape our future,” said Monika Tiwari, a first year student.
Earlier this month, several student bodies had held protests demanding the reopening of the campus. The authorities decided to resume the classes after a decline in number of Coronavirus cases in the national Capital.
However, not everyone was happy with the resumption of offline classes as outstation students complained of a spike in rent at paying guest accommodations.
“The PG owners in the area are now taking advantage of the situation and asking students triple the amount of actual rent. They are asking for Rs 16,000 for a triple-bed room. This is too much,” said Amrita, a third year B.A student from Rajasthan.Another student, 18-years-old Mamatha Rose from Kerala, who looked visibly tired after standing in a long queue at the Vishwavidyalaya Metro station, too shared her grouse.
“They earlier informed us you have to come to Delhi. But two days back they told us you can take online classes. I mean, there is so much mismanagement. We had already booked the tickets and my friend and her father helped us book a PG.
“They did not give us enough time to shift. Today, I am unable to take online classes because I need to shift. They should have provided us with accommodation facilities,” Rose said.