DU collects data on students to lost parents to Covid-19

: Delhi University colleges are collecting data on students who lost their parents to Covid-19, as part of a programme to subsidise their education in the varsity, senior officials said on Wednesday, a plan that was formulated in the wake of a brutal nationwide second wave of infections that claimed over 160,000 lives in April and May alone.

While paying tribute to staff and students of the university who died of Covid-19, acting vice-chancellor PC Joshi on Friday said the university will work towards clearing payments due to the deceased employees and to provide “free education to all Delhi University students who lost their parents in this pandemic till they are in the university.”

The DU administration on Monday asked colleges to furnish information on the number of students who lost either or both of their parents to the infection. Several principals HT spoke to said compiling the information will take some time due to the ongoing semester exams, the scale of the task, as well as the limited physical interaction with students due to the pandemic, while others noted that several students’ will take time to come to terms with the loss of a loved one.

Manoj Sinha, principal of Aryabhatta College and general secretary of the DU Principals’ Association (DUPA), said that since around 2,200 students are enrolled in the college, departments will take time to confirm the numbers.

“We have asked our departments and teachers from the mentorship programme to contact the batches of students under them and find out what they need. We have also put a notice up on the college website asking students to step forward and inform us about the death of their parents so that appropriate steps can be taken to help them,” he said.

He said the institution will also analyse each case and decide on the best appropriate aid for each student, adding that some students may need non-financial aid as well.

“Students from affluent families may not need help paying the fees, but might require a social support system... Even during the pandemic, we reached out to people to arrange for funds for students who were unable to pay their fee due to loss of income [in the family] during the pandemic,” he said.

Other institutions such as Hansraj College, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Indraprastha College for Women, and Ramjas College have sent student mails and asked teachers and departments to work on collecting the information required. Many principals said that some of the students were still hesitant to step forward with the information as they will still processing their grief.

“It is not easy for a child to step forward and say they lost their parent to Covid-19. Many of these students have neither connected with the teachers nor come to college due to online classes. We are still compiling the information. So far, around 20 students in our college have lost either of their parents,” said Bijayalaxmi Nanda, principal of Miranda House. “We are also creating mental health support groups for all students especially those who have lost parents or family members. Grief counselling initiatives have also been started.”

The university has also started an online and tele-counselling initiative for individuals and families affected by Covid-19 in collaboration with the District Magistrate (Central District) through helpline number 1149127700. The initiative aims to provide counselling advice and emotional support for the rehabilitation of people affected by Covid.

DU registrar Vikas Gupta said, “We are currently in the process of taking stock of the situation, collecting the data, and it will be a time consuming process.”