Colleges Reopening in Different States Across India; Live Updates

College campuses across the country have recently started to reopen with the upcoming fall semester as states eased their lockdown restrictions. However, other regions have yet to make a final decision regarding the colleges reopening. The process was facilitated nationally by government initiatives, including vaccination drives.

In August, the Karnataka and Odisha governments made the groundbreaking decision to open college campuses after 18 months in lockdown. Later in September, several states such as Assam and Tamil Nadu followed suit on sanctioning in-person classes. Additionally, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh are planning to start college classes for vaccinated students on 18 October and 2 November, respectively. All in-person academic activities have followed the “blended” learning model, with both offline and online classes available.

Nonetheless, there are currently several urban and rural COVID-19 hotspots in locations across India. This has led to several state governments putting a continual hold on the decision to open schools. In Maharashtra, the upcoming academic year will commence as planned on 1 November, but wholly online. States with more disparate vaccination concentrations and higher active cases of COVID-19 are thus relying on virtual classrooms for the foreseeable future.

College Reopening Live Updates

Students across India are returning to their college campuses. Follow this page for timely updates regarding the return of in-person learning.

09:29 | 8 September 2021: IIT Patna Will Open Campuses

IIT Patna has announced their intent to reopen affiliated campuses gradually for vaccinated students and staff.

22:20 | 7 September 2021: Students Request MP College Reopenings on Social Media

19:42 | 7 September 2021: Delhi University Announces Reopening Plans

DU’s registrar office indicated plans to offer phased offline classes for their affiliated colleges under strict COVID-19 mandates.

19:11 | 7 September 2021: Kerala Colleges Will Open Campuses from 4 October

The Chief Minister of Kerala stated that higher educational entities within the state can resume activities while following the mandated SOPs from 4 October 2021.

18:35 | 7 September 2021: Maharashtra Colleges Will Begin Online Learning on 1 November, Minister Samant States Offline Classes Will Begin in the Same Month

Maharashtra’s Higher Education Minister, Uday Samant, affirmed the start of physical classes in November. However, several college students responded with skepticism.

15:36 | 7 September 2021: Students Demand Opening for West Bengal Universities

12:08 | 7 September 2021: Assam College Fee Waiver Extended for 2021-22 Academic Year

The Assam state government will continue the Pragyan Bharti free admissions scheme for students with parental income under INR 2 lakh per annum.

15:16 | 6 September 2021: JNU Will Open Campus on 6 September

Jawaharlal Nehru University will open their campuses gradually from 6 September. This initial opening was for the convenience of PhD research scholars with imminent thesis deadlines. However, all attending students must obtain a negative COVID-19 testing results within 72 hours of arrival.

19:30 | 4 September 2021: Madhya Pradesh Will Allow Colleges to Open from 15 September

MP colleges can reintroduce in-person campus academics from 15 September under strict monitoring.

14:37 | 4 September 2021: Delhi College Students Demand “Buffer Time” for College Reopening

14:18 | 4 September 2021: West Bengal ITIs and Polytechnical Institutions Will Offer In-Person Classes On Alternate Days

West Bengal’s state-affiliated Industrial Training Institutes and polytechnical colleges will reopen on alternating days.

08:21 | 4 September 2021: Jamia Hadard Will Open Doors on 7 September

The university will offer optional physical learning in a 50% capacity from 7 September 2021. This opening was in favor of the institute’s final year undergraduate and postgraduate students.

18:46 | 3 September 2021: Assam Universities Can Open On 6 September

Universities within Assam can introduce an offline-online hybrid mode of learning from 6 September 2021. Furthermore, offline classes will also be available for the state’s class XII students.

18:03 | 3 September 2021: Ministers Prioritize Prompt Vaccination of Teaching Staff

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan publicly thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has contributed INR 2 crore for vaccination efforts across the country.

16:11 | 3 September 2021: Jammu and Kashmir Approve Higher Educational Reopening

Officials have voted for a “limited on-site” opening of colleges and universities for fully vaccinated participants within J&K.

14:45 | 3 September 2021: Kerala Forms Panel to Determine Safety of College Reopening

The state has called upon experts to study whether the opening of campuses is favourable. The group will submit their findings regarding the possibility shortly.

13:23 | 3 September 2021: Candidates Submit More Than 14,000 ECA and 8238 Sports Applications

After the application deadline on 31 August, Delhi University officials have reported that the institute received more than 14,000 Extra Curricular Activities and 8,238 Athletics scholarship forms for UG and PG.