Tamil Nadu colleges to begin academic session from 3 August; guidelines for online classes released

The Tamil Nadu government has decided to start the next academic year for colleges from 3 August. The classes will be held in online mode. According to a report by The Times of India, the state higher education department has asked universities to ensure that students are taught for mandatory academic hours for the next semester. The decision of starting online classes was taken during a meeting convened by the state higher education minister KP Anbalagan. The online meeting was attended by vice chancellors of state universities and higher education secretary Apoorva. The report quoted a higher education official saying that for conducting a semester, the colleges need at least 90 working days, or 450 hours of classes. The official added that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 90 working days is not possible in the present semester hence it has been decided to take classes for 450 hours. A report by Jagran Josh said that during the meeting, it was decided that the marks and results of the students promoted to next year without exams will be published within the next three weeks. The Tamil Nadu government has also decided to give 70 percent weightage to internal exams and 30 percent to previous exams. Following the guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC), the state government has promoted all students to the next academic year without exams. The final year students will, however, have to take the examinations. The Tamil Nadu government, meanwhile, has extended the COVID-19 lockdown in the state till 31 August. The decision came after Chief Minister K Palaniswami held discussions with district collectors and the government-appointed medical expert panel. Tamil Nadu has so far reported nearly 2,40,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus. The virus has claimed lives of over 3,800 people in the state.