IIT Kharagpur is conducting a survey to determine the number of fully or partially vaccinated research scholars staying on the campus.
Based on the findings of the survey, the authorities will decide whether a vaccination camp needs to be organised on the campus, officials of the institute said.
The survey has been ordered, the officials said, following reports that some of the scholars were yet to take even the first dose of a Covid vaccine.
Around 900 scholars are staying at two hostels on the campus — the men at the BR Ambedkar Hall of Residence and the women at the Sister Nivedita Hall of Residence.
The scholars have been asked to inform the authorities about their vaccination status through a Google form. The ones who are partially or fully vaccinated have to mention the dates when they took the shots.
“It is understood that some students may not be vaccinated at all. We want to know the status of vaccination and then plan accordingly,” the dean of students’ affairs, Dhrubajytoi Sen, told The Telegraph.
From December, the institute had been calling research scholars back to the campus following a directive from the Centre allowing researchers requiring laboratory/experimental work to return to their institutes.
The IIT suspended the recall following detection of Covid cases on the campus in April. Later, it decided that only up to 900 scholars, of the 3,500-odd on the institute’s rolls, will be allowed to stay on the campus at a time.
The institute has started the process of calling 450 BTech and 50 MTech students back to the campus in batches. These students are hit by the digital divide and need the connectivity facilities of the campus to attend online classes.
“Since the BTech and MTech students will arrive soon, it is imperative that we conduct a survey to ascertain the vaccination status of the students already on the campus,” an official of the IIT said.
“Vaccination is an antidote to Covid. In a perfect situation, all students should be fully vaccinated before setting foot on the campus. But given the erratic supply of vaccines, we cannot insist on that. The survey will help us determine whether we need to hold a vaccination camp.”
The IIT Kharagpur teachers’ association had earlier this month written to education minister Dharmendra Pradhan accusing the authorities of inaction and indifference towards the need of research scholars.
The letter pointed out that “some of the IITs have brought their research scholars to almost full strength by upgrading the medical facilities on the campus”.
IIM Calcutta has launched a vaccination drive on its campus after a survey revealed that most of the students of the two-year MBA programme who have returned to the campus were partially vaccinated.
