After reports that students are being asked to vacate hostel rooms amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has denied the claims. Calling the reports “totally incorrect” the institute claims that while 80 per cent of its students are attending classes from home, the remaining 20 per cent are staying on campus “voluntarily”.
The IIT claims that due to increasing cases in Kanpur as well over 100 students being symptomatic, the institute had requested those who are fit to leave the campus to consider going home. The IIT claims that it had provided the students with the additional support of RTPC test reports and even allowed those with personal problems or students whose houses fall in containment zones to stay at the campus.
Several students, however, had taken to Twitter to claim that they were being asked to vacate campus accommodation against their will.
“Given the alarming increase in the number of cases in the Institute and Kanpur, we have requested those students who are completely fit to return to the respective hometowns and had provided them with all possible assistance with RT PCT reports since it is the requisite of some states, flight/train reservations etc. The decision was taken since the students occupy shared accommodation where the chances of infections are very high, we did not want to aggravate the situation further, hence had requested all fit students to leave for their respective hometowns,” claims the institute.
Claiming that the institute is “sensitive to personal problems of some students and will help them in every possible way”, the IIT said that it has permitting few students to stay on the campus if they cannot go home since members of their family back home are infected or their home is sealed or in containment zone or some such personal problem. “All such students will surely be provided help. Also, we would like to inform that students currently residing at the institute premises have come on voluntarily and there was no compulsion at all from the institute given the current situation,” the IIT said.
It added that “no stone has been left unturned with regards to the safety and security of the students during the pandemic”. The official statement said that 80 per cent of the students are still functioning from their respective residences and these include the students of the first, second, and third-year undergraduate courses and some students in the final year undergraduate courses and masters and doctoral courses as well.
“From the remaining 20 percent, there are around 100 cases both positive and suspected of students who have been quarantined in single rooms of the two guest houses and have been well-taken care of by the medical staff armed with all the relevant equipment like PPE kits, medicines etc and are provided with meals four times a day. Their progress is monitored on a day-to-day basis. In addition, we have converted our yoga hall into a 40-bed covid care centre in case of more cases,” claims the institute.
About 8000 students have enrolled at IIT-Kanpur. While the institute has been shut since March 2020 and classes had moved digitally because of the pandemic, the IIT had started phase-wise reopening in August. Students were asked to return to campus in batches for 300-400 students, however, the second wave of the pandemic had halted the process of reopening at the IIT and several other institutions across India.
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