HUBBALLI: While other engineering institutes like Manipal Institute of Technology are reporting COVID-19 cases, the Indian Institute of Technology-Dharwad has set an example to prevent the spread of the virus among its students. The institute has decided not to allow students who are staying on campus to leave the premises and their needs are being fulfilled by staff.
The state’s only IIT was set up in Dharwad a couple of years ago and usually has more than 600 students staying on the campus. Soon after relaxing the lockdown norms, it allowed students to enter the campus in phases to attend the semester examinations. At present, to ensure social distancing, only 240 students have been allowed to return to the campus and they are residing in hostels on the premises.
A senior officer said after receiving the RT-PCR negative report of each student, they were allowed to enter the campus. Also, after the students returned to the hostel, they were kept under quarantine for 10 days and now their semester exams have started.
“We have been conducting semester exams phase-wise and now only 240 students are taking the exams. In the second phase, other students will take exams. To prevent any infection among the students, we have not allowed them outside the campus. The students inform us about their requirements and our staff will address it,” he said.
The institute created a bio-bubble type environment for the safety of students who came here from various states. No visitors are allowed inside the campus and they are strictly following COVID-19 norms to prevent infection in the varsity.
The campus is following the SMS (sanitization, mask and social distancing) mantra. Relying on these three guidelines, no one on the campus has developed any kind of symptoms till now.