Universities, colleges reopen in UP with 50% attendance today

New Delhi, Nov 23: Universities and colleges in Uttar Pradesh have reopened from today with 50 per cent attendance.

The higher education institutes have been allowed to reopen in a phased manner to avoid overcrowding at campuses.

In a first, Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has allowed final year students of PhD programmes of Science streams to visit their respective departments or labs for research work in phases.

BHU had said that it will follow guidelines prescribed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the government.

After reviewing the situation in the first phase, BHU will decide on further re-opening of the departments of other streams.

"It feels good to be back to the University. We will follow all precautionary measures," a student of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya University, Gorakhpur, told ANI.

Students will have to wear masks, maintain social distancing norms inside the campus.

Students will be required to undertake that they will follow the guidelines after entering the campus. They will be required to carry ID cards at all times and sign the movement register of the hostel.

Educational institutions in Uttar Pradesh were closed in March, following the nationwide lockdown enforced by the Central Government in an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19.