All instructional establishments throughout the nation had been closed when the primary nationwide lockout was carried out to forestall the unfold of coronavirus on 22 March final 12 months. As an alternate, all faculties, schools and universities all of a sudden needed to flip to on-line training. However, not all universities had been outfitted with the required digital infrastructure.
University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued greater than Half a dozen pointers and advisory COVID-appropriate habits that instructional establishments must comply with, however no monetary help has been offered to them.
“Going into online mode of learning is not limited to lectures on video calling apps. This is to ensure that the faculty has the necessary digital infrastructure to deliver lectures via the Internet, including virtual reality (VR), gamification, and engaging content. In most webinars or lectures, teachers face connectivity issues due to lack of sufficient bandwidth. Some teachers did not even have dedicated laptops. Universities have not received any funding to meet such demands in the last one year, ”Anna University Vice Chancellor MK Surappa informed indianexpress.com.
UGC Secretary Rajneesh Jain agrees that no funds have been launched by the Commission for COVID-19 administration or on-line studying. “We get funds directly from the Ministry of Education and then disseminate them to educational institutions. As far as I know, no additional funds have been allocated during the Kovid period and no such plans are in the pipeline. If and when there is availability of funds, they will be redirected to universities, ”stated Jain.
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Rajiv Ray, president of Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA), stated, UGC gave nothing greater than recommendation. “The professors were working from colleges until 4 May, and 20 teachers had already lost the battle to COVID. There was no help from the government. Central University teachers admitted after the New Pension Scheme (NPS) of 2004 will also not receive death subsidy. The government should have provided some monetary assistance in such an unprecedented time, ”stated Ray.
The college is offering 5 lakh compensation to the households of the deceased by the Teachers Welfare Fund, which was established in 1975 and is run with the monetary contribution of DU academics. “Teachers need better laptops to conduct classes and at the same time, they have to buy laptops separately for children’s online classes. In the midst of an epidemic, a university professor would not be able to tolerate it very comfortably, ”stated Ray.
While personal universities usually are not depending on the UGC for funds and have a company funding cushion, they’re additionally combating elevated bills amongst COVIDs.
“Private universities are not generating their own funds among Kovid, but functional costs remain unchanged. No revenue is coming due to hostel being vacant, mess facility is not being used. Corporate funding is also being hampered as most industries are experiencing financial setbacks due to the coronovirus epidemic. One-time provision of additional financial support could have helped private universities to cope with the changing medium of education, ”Surendra Malhotra, Member, Board of Management of JK Laxmipat University.
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Several state governments have introduced particular schemes for varsity training of scholars who’ve misplaced one or each mother and father to COVID. The Central Government just lately introduced a particular “PM-CARES for Children” scheme for all orphans resulting from COVID-19. This will embody an quantity of Rs 10 lakh until the kid reaches the age of 18 years. When a toddler turns 18, he’ll obtain a month-to-month stipend of Rs 10 lakh to satisfy private wants and better training bills. According to the official assertion, on reaching the age of 23, the kid will get a full 10 lakh rupees.
Universities are additionally organising their very own Kovid-Relief Fund to assist such college students with course charges with none monetary help from the federal government.
Chancellor of Amity University Atul Chauhan stated, “Over the past few months, we have had many tragic instances where our students have lost one or both of their parents, forcing students to pay their fees and continue their education It has been difficult to keep up. We have set up a relief fund through which we want to sponsor the entire educational fee of such students. “
He additional added, “The college has obtained over 250 functions from college students in search of monetary help from undergraduate and postgraduate applications, whereas the window was initially open to 100 college students. A committee has been constituted to guage the requests. Has gone and a monetary fund of greater than Rs 40-50 crores has been ready for this.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
