University of Mumbai (MU) affiliated degree colleges will continue conducting online classes for the upcoming semester

Colleges have been closed for the past 9 months. Students have attended online classes since mid-March as the entire country went under a lockdown for 6 months.

With the lockdown extended until January 31, the University of Mumbai (MU) affiliated degree colleges are contemplating the continuation of online classes for the next semester. Colleges said they will continue with a collaborative framework to the academic year even if the state directs them to resume offline lectures.

Authorities of degree colleges said classes are taken entirely online for now. However, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be a mixed strategy with a combination of online and offline lectures for this academic year. The principal of a college in Malad said, "Even if we resume offline classes, we will have 30 to 40 percent online lectures.”

Practicals, laboratory lectures, and on-field assignments will be prioritized offline. "By now, both students and teachers have a hold of virtual education, so for this academic year we will continue this mixed approach," said the principal of a college at Charni Road. The principal added, "We are awaiting the guidelines from the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the state Higher and Technical Education Department. We will give top preference to start offline lectures for practicals, laboratory classes, and field research."

The state government has not given any guidelines regarding the start of offline classes for degree colleges and universities following the extension of the lockdown until January 31, 2021. In-house software has been developed by graduate colleges to conduct online classes, semester tests, record attendance, and hold interactive academic sessions using virtual tools.

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