Delhi University To Reopen From Feb 17 For Offline Classes After Demonstration By Students

Delhi University Reopening Latest News Today: Delhi University will reopen from February 17, Proctor Rajni Abbi announced on Wednesday following demonstration by students. Several students on Monday held a protest outside the office of Delhi University’s vice-chancellor, demanding immediate reopening of the campus, days after the Delhi Disaster Management Authority gave its nod to resumption of offline teaching in the capital. The students hung an ”Out of Service” placard on the gate of the VC office.Also Read – World Records 500,000 COVID Deaths Since Omicron, WHO Says ‘Beyond Tragic’

The protest by the students was organised by the Students’ Federation of India (SFI). In a statement, the SFI said over 400 students took part in the “gherao”. Also Read – Omicron Subvariant BA.2 May Be More Detectable, No Proof Of Being Severe: WHO

“The frustration of students is quite evident. You can see it on their faces, hear it in their voices. The VC must address the situation in the next two days or else we would have to break the locks on our classrooms ourselves,” Ankit Birpali, SFI Hindu College Secretary, told news agency PTI. Also Read – Ranji Trophy: Squad Size Capped At 30, Two Covid-19 Reserves Allowed

Apart from SFI, other student and teacher organisations also extended support of the protest, claimed the student body. Over 53 departments across the university observed a complete boycott of online classes, claimed the SFI.

“Many of us are not in Delhi right now so we could not join the protest called by SFI. But we decided that we must take action to send a message that students, in general, support the demand of re-opening the campus. Hence, we boycotted online classes today,” Arushi Sharma, a student of Miranda House, told PTI.

Despite the DDMA giving a go-ahead to the reopening of higher educational institutions from Monday, the DU had not issued any notification for the reopening of the campus. Earlier, the officials had said the university will open in a few days and they will formulate a strategy in this regard.

Recently, the DDMA decided to reopen higher educational institutions and coaching centres, along with schools for classes 9-12, from Monday. Asked about the reopening of the DU colleges, vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh had said they would give a few days’ time to the students to return to the campus.