Varsities, colleges to offer counselling to allay fears

As per the fresh guidelines issued by the University of Grants Commission (UGC), colleges and technical institutions in Tamil Nadu are planning to commence the new academic session on August 1. The pending exams, new admissions and other works are also expected to begin in August.

According to a senior official from the Higher Education Department, the students and faculty who have been stuck in their homes for several weeks since the lockdown was imposed could be feeling a sense of fear about the coronavirus pandemic, especially considering the torrent of information from various sources including social media.

“We received several requests and feedbacks not only from parents but also from academicians, who wanted counselling sessions, especially for the students, before reopening of colleges to alleviate the stress,” the official told DT Next.

Special cells would be established in all colleges, including technical institutions, to begin counselling through dedicated helpline numbers, the official said, adding that all institutions have been instructed to appoint experts to conduct counselling in languages such as Tamil, English, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada.

He said institutions were asked to inform their respective students about the facility, and noted that the University of Madras has already launched a special counselling cell for the students and faculty. Apart from counselling, all colleges would also establish a special cell for handling grievances of the students related to examinations and other academic activities.

“A State-level task force comprising academicians and experts will be constituted to monitor concerns and grievances of students, teachers and institutions, and redress them accordingly,” he said. The institutions would also create email addresses for the students to lodge their concerns and grievances through it.

The official said that the institutions would have to update their official portals regularly so that students would be able to access the latest information, circular and announcements related to college activities.