Many students have returned home from their colleges in north India in the wake of the flare-up between India and Pakistan.

At least one university has announced online exams, giving students the option to appear for the tests from their hometown instead of staying on the campus.

Until the ceasefire was announced, hundreds of parents were panic-stricken and
frantically trying to book tickets and bring their children home.

Vidyt Bhudolia, a second-year student of computer science at Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology in Patiala, Punjab, returned to the city on Saturday morning.

“We received an email on Friday morning that said the university will remain closed till May 18,” said Vidyt. The second-year student was in Delhi by the time the email came.

“With the situation escalating on the night of May 8-9, my parents panicked and wanted me to be out of Patiala as soon as possible. On the morning of May 9, some of my friends and I decided to travel to Delhi and stay there for a few days because it’s only a six-hour drive from Patiala. But when the email came, I booked a ticket to Calcutta. My parents did not want me to stay back even for a day,” said Vidyt.

Several universities in north India have been communicating with parents and students via email, trying to apprise them of the situation and reassure them about the safety of the students.

In Haryana’s Sonipat, Surangana Banerjee, a student at O.P. Jindal Global University, was trying to book a ticket back to the city on Saturday.

Jindal announced on Friday that its exams will be conducted online.

“All exams will be held online. The campus is safe, and there is no threat. Students can choose to go home or stay on campus,” said a university official who requested anonymity.

Psychology student Surangana said she and many of her friends had been awake through Friday night trying to work out travel logistics instead of studying for her exams, which start next week.

Given the uncertain situation, none of the students has exams on their mind, many of them said.

“Since this is my last semester, I had initially booked a train ticket on May 26 because I was supposed to carry my belongings back to Calcutta. Since the situation suddenly became so uncertain, I couriered about 50kg of my stuff and will carry another 20kg with me. None of us can think about studies or sit down to prepare, given the situation,” said Surangana.

A second-year law student at O.P. Jindal said on Saturday evening: “The exams are online so why should I in any case wait on the campus? My friends are leaving, too,” said the Salt Lake girl.

At Ashoka University, the exams ended on Friday.

Many students have already left the campus. The number of students leaving campus to go back to their hometowns is changing fast, a university official said.

The university has yet to take a decision regarding the convocation scheduled on May 23 and the summer programmes.

“We are waiting to see how the situation unfolds,” said vice-chancellor Somak Raychaudhury.