Srinagar: The University of Kashmir will be resuming class work from today after it remained largely suspended since the abrogation of Article 370 in August last year.
Before the government of India abrogated Article 370 on August 5, the KU administration had closed the student hostels for an indefinite period sending the hostellers from far flung areas packing. And when the Kashmir lockdown began afterwards, class work, too, has largely remained suspended since then.
In the meantime, the varsity announced winter vacation from December 23, 2019 till February 2, 2020 thereby officially pulling down the curtains on the academic session.
The administration at the varsity could, at most, only complete the admission process of 2019 academic session and hold the pending semester examinations.
Now when class work is resuming today, the University administration is looking forward to the upcoming academic session to compensate the lost academic period, said Registrar KU, Prof Nisar Ahmad Mir.
Prof Mir hoped that after resuming their class work on Monday, the varsity students will remain focused on their studies given that the previous academic session has suffered.
The university, he said, was also mulling to hold remedial classes for the students to compensate the lost class work.
Prof Mir said that abandoning the second shift of admissions, will also give them a breathing time to conduct remedial classes.
President Kashmir University Teachers’ Association (KUTA) too hoped that the upcoming academic session turns out to be productive for the students.
President KUTA asked the varsity to take such steps so that students suffer minimal academic loss in view of the prevailing situation.
He suggested that the varsity should devise an academic calendar and follow it in letter and spirit.
Meanwhile, several students Kashmir Reader spoke with expressed their excitement over the resumption of class work at KU.
Muzaffar, a law student at the varsity, hoped that they will compensate the lost academic period in coming months and complete their degree with a minimal loss.
Aqib, who is pursuing Master’s degree in Commerce at the varsity, too hoped that they will make up for the lost class work. He however quickly added that students were in a state of uncertainty whether normalcy prevails on campus, at all.
The KU has proposed to conduct 1st and 2nd semester PG exams by March.

Irshad Khan