The notice regarding campus reopening came as a glimmer of hope for many but disappointment for others. It also came with a lot of questions from both sides. The EPC conducted an interview with Associate Prof. Navin Singh—Chief Warden and Prof. Srikanta Routroy—Associate Dean, Student Welfare Division (SWD) to understand their stand on various issues surrounding the entire process.
The campus is set to re-open in batch-wise cycles, with the only requirement being at least one dose of the vaccine. Both the officials said that this was a mutual decision taken by the administrations of the three Indian campuses. They added that since this situation is unprecedented, the re-opening would be closely monitored and a future course of action would be charted out. They also made it clear that it is not mandatory to come to campus and that they do not expect more than 70% of the permitted students to report. Students who would be sitting for examinations such as CAT and GRE would be allowed to leave campus, but their re-entry would only be allowed if a re-entry cycle is organised by SWD.
The Goa campus has required students to specify reasons if unable to come to campus, whereas the Pilani campus is calling students on a voluntary basis. Questioned on this, the Associate Dean of SWD remarked that the methods employed by both the campuses were the same in his opinion. Discussing the autonomy granted to each campus for re-opening, the viability of Pilani campus being able to accommodate the students graduating in 2023 sooner than the other two campuses was brought up. The Chief Warden replied that this had been decided by the ‘joint leadership’ of the three Indian campuses. He clarified, however, that the dates are flexible across campuses.
The FAQs mentioned no mandatory quarantine for returning students, even if they are only partially vaccinated. While addressing concerns of a possible outbreak on campus as a result of this, the Chief Warden assured that single and double vaccination offers the ‘same level of protection’ if the accompanying requirement of RT-PCR testing is accounted for. He stated that students returning from Kerala and Maharashtra might be quarantined on arrival, but the decision regarding that is still pending.
When asked directly if there was a concrete institute-determined plan for calling the students graduating in 2023 back to campus, both the officials said that it would not be possible to comment on a date, but the administration was trying their best to hasten the process. They said that it is a dynamic situation and that the administration would monitor the situation regularly.
On being asked why the 2024 graduating batch was being called back before the batch graduating in 2023 as the latter would be spending the least amount of total time on campus if they aren’t called back this semester, they replied that this argument was a slippery slope since it could be argued that the 2020 batch has not seen campus yet and such grievances exist across batches.
Regarding speculations around the reason for not calling these batches being their ongoing Summer Internship (SI) season, the Chief Warden dismissed them and declared it to be nothing but ‘a leadership decision’.
For courses common between batches, a ‘hybrid’ method of teaching and evaluation would be required. Regarding this, it was mentioned that the policy surrounding evaluations and examinations would be handled by the Academic-Undergraduate Studies Division (AUGSD).
With respect to special provisions—as existent in a few IITs—being laid out for students pursuing Lab Oriented Projects (LOPs) and Design Oriented Projects (DOPs) on campus, as well as the student technical teams, the officials refused to accept this system as it will have to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. However, Prof. Routroy clarified that ‘SWD might look into genuine exceptional cases of lack of infrastructure.’ They also said that volunteers from the Society for Student Mess Services (SSMS) and the Students’ Union (SU) will be allowed.
With news regarding IIT-Bombay contracting a consulting firm to come up with a campus reopening strategy, there was a question of whether similar steps had been taken by the BITS administration. The Chief Warden and the Associate Dean addressed this by saying ‘one can consult BCG but we have already made a document.’ The Chief Warden also urged incoming students to show discipline when on campus, similar to how the 2021 graduating batch students did when they were called.
Regarding facilities on campus, he mentioned that sanitisers have been installed in all hostels and messes with the help of SU members to facilitate the creation of a bio bubble. He added that they are already in contact with the SU and the SSMS and will modify things with their help.
Reiterating that executing the plan depends on the students’ behaviour on campus, it was said that mutual understanding between wingmates to support each other’s mental and physical health would be required. A team of volunteers is being put together to administer the rules and maintain safety on campus. As for the 2021 batch, a decision was yet to be taken with regard to calling them to campus.
In a note to the 2020 batch, the Chief Warden said that they have a greater responsibility when on campus as compared to other batches. He also mentioned that parents will not be allowed to stay on campus beyond a couple of hours. Stating that ‘isolation is a tricky word’, he said students should not engage in unnecessary social gatherings and should maintain responsible social distancing. The Chief Warden was confident that if the spread of the virus can be contained, the situation will stay in control and further batches might be called.