Two days before colleges were scheduled to reopen, the University of Mumbai (MU) released a circular on Saturday stating that its affiliated colleges will continue online classes till February 22.

The circular read, “Based on our discussion with BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) officials, it is being clarified that colleges should not reopen for physical classes before February 22.”

University officials also added that another circular will be released with confirmation from civic authorities to inform colleges about the reopening protocols. MU’s circular follows a letter by BMC denying Mumbai University’s request to reopen colleges from Monday.

Baliram Gaikwad, in-charge registrar, Mumbai University said, “We had a meeting with BMC officials on Friday and they shared their concerns. As trains services resumed for all citizens from February 1, BMC wants to first study if the restarting of locals for general public made any difference to the Covid-19 case count.” Hence, BMC has asked to postpone college reopening by another week until further clarification, he added.

A senior BMC official said the decision on reopening colleges will depend entirely on the coronavirus cases recorded in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) over the next week. The official said, “We have to ensure that restarting of locals for all does not bring a spike in cases. Only after that can we allow reopening of colleges. Students, too, would have to travel by train, and we need to take all necessary precautions before allowing colleges to reopen.”

Source: Hindustan Times

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