Educational Institutions Turning Into COVID-19 Hotspots

Educational Institutions Turning Into COVID-19 Hotspots

In the wake of the surge in COVID-19 infections in the educational institutions in Odisha, panic seems to have gripped parents and students. Campuses in Odisha have been reporting positive cases in the past few days.

With cases from educational institutions coming to the limelight, blame-game seems to have surged among the students, parents and administration. My City Links spoke to different stakeholders to figure out what the ground scenario is and how the way forward looks. 

Students

A student of a government university in Cuttack, informed on the condition of anonymity, “Despite the solemnity of the situation, the administration seems to turn a deaf ear to all guidelines prescribed and the authorities themselves fail to follow the protocols.” Recently there has been a clash between the students and administration, following which the exams that were scheduled from March 25 got postponed.

Srikant Devi, a student of a private engineering college in Bhubaneswar, said, “One of our batchmates has been detected with the virus but still there is no news of the college being shut down yet. Offline classes are still on and there are no major steps taken by the authorities as of now.”

Nevertheless there is a section of students insisting on the reopening of the colleges since they have invested quite a lot of money on the institution and expect to experience college life at the campus to the fullest. Aditya Dalmia, a student of KIIT said, “Despite insisting the college to reopen, there has been no outcome on the same. It is very disappointing since we only get four years of college and we want to enjoy it like  a normal one. We are old enough to be careful and take care of ourselves.”

Administration

The administration of the colleges is actually in a catch-22 situation for if they agree to the urges of the students and reopen but the guidelines are not followed and go out of hand, then it is a big headache for the administration. 

Prafulla Kumar Sahoo, the Student Leader of Buxi Jagabandhu Bidyadhar (Autonomous) College, said, “Amidst the grave news of positive cases rising in the city, major steps have been taken by the management as well as the students to keep the virus at bay. Keeping in view the ongoing exams as well as the interests of the students,  has decided to shut down the institution only after the ongoing exams.”

Parents

Sarita Sarangi, a parent of a college-going lad, expressed her concern over the careless attitude of college authorities of resuming offline classes. She said, “The decision of the colleges reopening is very absurd. The Government should take a strict action and cease all educational institutions from opening. We cannot expect the college-going students to act responsibly as they lose all sense of the ongoing situation when they are with their friends. Despite urging them to follow the COVID guidelines seriously, they are bent on doing what they will, without considering the dangers.” 

Sure enough, it is not feasible for students to hang out with their friends with masks on while maintaining distance. The whole purpose of meeting friends stands nullified here. With no strict and proper guidelines from the authorities, offline classes are a risk during this period of the pandemic.

Education Department

Samir Ranjan Dash, theScool and Mass Education Minister of Odisha, shared, “We are strictly adhering to our  standard operating procedure (SOP) in the government colleges and government-run hostels. As far as the private institutions are concerned, the nodal officers and the district administrations are looking into the matter sincerely and have been advised to close down with immediate effect.”

“No decision has been taken regarding closing of the institutions, but the government will take appropriate steps, in due time, keeping the situation in mind,” he added.

The cluster of infectants at Xavier Institute of Management (XIMB), Bhubaneswar is one of the biggest in the state since the outbreak of the pandemic in the state last year, while another 42 from two private institutes tested positive in Cuttack city. The twin cities have witnessed a sudden surge in cases with about 102 people testing positive for the virus in the last seven days. 

A year in and with the virus again gradually gaining momentum and coming to its peak, it is high time that people once again take it seriously and follow the COVID-19 protocols religiously. The virus is here to stay. The least we can do is wear masks, maintain social distancing and be sanitized at short intervals.