As second Covid-19 wave rages, Bengaluru's premier institutes brace for worst

As the second Covid-19 surge continues to push up case numbers, the premier scientific and educational institutions in the city expressed concern that research and academic activities will be affected.

Educators are also waiting to see if the year-long stint of online learning has translated to actual learning. Vice Chancellor Sudhir Krishnaswamy of National Law School of India University (NLSIU), said that the impact of online learning can only be gauged once first-year students return to classrooms this year for their second year. "Only then we will know if they have achieved the same learning outcome as previous batches," he said.

Another area of concern is scientific research. The first Covid-19 outbreak had disrupted research at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) - first through the lockdown and then through interruptions in the import of supplies.

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As per data from the institute, whereas researchers were consistently publishing over 2,100 papers annually since 2015, they published only 1,666 papers last year. In the first quarter of this year, 406 papers have been published.

Better prepared

IISc Director Dr Govindan Rangarajan acknowledged that for the past year, all labs worked at reduced capacity, with strict Covid-19 protocols in place. "The Institute community is much better prepared to handle the disruptions this year," he said. "Faculty members and students will continue working on their research projects with Covid-19 protocols in place."

The institute has been hit by 32 on-campus Covid-19 cases in the second wave. This includes a cluster of about seven asymptomatic cases which were discovered at a campus hostel last week.

With students returning to campus, Dr Rangarajan specified that "all classes and assessments, including final exams, during the ongoing semester (from February to June) will be conducted online."

Research was also affected across the campuses of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) but on a smaller scale, according to Director Dr Annapurni Subramaniam. "Key satellite integration projects were not disrupted. Small labs are now continuing their work. Students are returning in staggered batches. There is concern, however, over the JEST 2021 exam which could be held in-person,” she said.

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At Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Professor Rajendra K Bandi, Dean of Administration, said that the institute has embraced online learning mechanisms and has introduced weekly testing on campus. "The pandemic has made us more creative and more collaborative. As institute events were held online, we got marquee speakers from across the globe for workshops, seminars and conferences," he said.

He added that all examinations, completed in March, were held online and that placements, also, were completely online.

At NLSIU, Krishnaswamy said that the college hopes to restart physical classes from July. "Classrooms and other infrastructure have been revamped to provide more space and ventilation," he said.