Vaccination, student scholarships, fee subsidies and tech on upcoming SPPU Senate meeting agenda

Senate member Santosh Dhore mooted a proposal to waive fees of students in hostels and process refunds if fees have been taken besides proposing a policy to prevent academic loss of students who are unable to take online education.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges brought in its wake will be on the agenda of the upcoming Senate meeting of the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), scheduled to take place on January 9 and 10.

From resolutions on subsidising exam fees of students, vaccinating teachers and staffers, providing student scholarships to instituting a separate to empower colleges in tribal areas to get technologically developed, several of the proposals the difficulties brought on by the pandemic.

Senate member Santosh Dhore mooted a proposal to waive fees of students in hostels and process refunds if fees have been taken besides proposing a policy to prevent academic loss of students who are unable to take online education.

Stating that students are confused about online education, principal Motiram Deshmukh said in his proposal that while the UGC has suggested a 30 per cent cut in the curriculum and online education to cover up the rest, in tribal and remote areas, not even 10 per cent of students could access online lectures due to network connectivity issues or lack of smartphones.

Stating that students are not even aware of what their syllabus is, Deshmukh said that if examinations are proposed at this stage, it would lead to discontent among students and parents. He has proposed setting up a committee to take an objective review of the situation regarding syllabus and examinations instead of considering the reports of colleges.

Principal of Modern College and Senate member Dr Sanjay Kharat has proposed that teachers and staff of the university be vaccinated. A proposal by Dadabhau Shinalkar seeks a nominal examination fee for students while Deshmukh has proposed a resolution to provide funds in the quality improvement scheme of the university for the empowerment of information technology facilities in affiliated colleges where technology is scarce.

One of the proposals seeks to shift the academic calendar upwards, the examination for the academic year 2020-21 should be held in April-May 2021. The format of the question papers should be Part I on the syllabus of the first session and Part II on the syllabus of the second session.

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