Delay in new Academic Year beginning to affect all education activities

Aurangabad, Nov 1:

All the educational activities in departments of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (Bamu) and its affiliated colleges will be affected because of delay in commencement of new academic year (AY).

The academic calendar of colleges and departments was disturbed and the commencement of new AY delayed by four and a half months, due to the spread of Novel coronavirus.

It may be noted that the AY begins on June 15 every year and ends in April. There was full lockdown for more than two and months across the State to contain the spread of COVID 19. So, all the educational institutions were shut down, and annual examinations were cancelled except final year, were postponed. There are 420 undergraduate and postgraduate colleges in Aurangabad, Jalna, Beed and Osmanbad, with the intake of 3.30 lakh students. The online classes are being held in the colleges while the admission process is underway. The summer examinations 2020 were conducted a few days ago. The AY 2020-21 began from Sunday.

All academic activities will be affected and deferred because of the delay in the commencement of new AY. The first term will end in March 2021 and the duration of the second term will be from April to August 31,2021.

Commenting on this, newly appointed Pro-Vice-chancellor Dr Shyam Shirsath said that the university had made all planning from starting classes to holding next examinations and result.

“Since the beginning of new AY is delayed, further academic activities of this year including examinations, will be delayed. We have a plan to reduce Diwali vacations like Government departments to cover the syllabus,” he said.

Over the education loss and extension of the academic year, BAMU Management Council member and Principal Dr Jaisingh Deshmukh feels that there will be no education loss of students as the new academic year would be extended.

“Colleges are already conducting online classes until November 30. The decision to continue online or go for offline will be taken after the State Government’s policy.

On the point of holding practical for the first term, he replied that the practicals would be conducted when offline classes begin.

On the issue of managing syllabus for delayed AY, a college teacher Dr Rajesh Karpe thinks that teachers would have to work a bit extra to cover the syllabus.

“Already, online classes are being organised. The academic year began today. This means it will end in August 2021 instead of April 2021. To start the next academic year on regular time, there is a need to have proper planning,” he added.