The University of Hyderabad has decided to keep its hostels open with limited facilities for students from outside Telangana who are stranded because of the spate of lockdowns announced across the country. Students whose homes are in Telangana have been asked to vacate the hostels latest by tomorrow afternoon. As previously announced, the University has suspended all academic and related activities until April 6.
Compassionately reconsidering its previous order asking students to vacate the hostels, the University administration also noted the nationwide disruptions to the transport networks in announcing its decision amidst a rapidly changing situation with regard to the spread of Covid-19 in the country. However, taking into consideration the welfare of the students whose homes are far away from Hyderabad as well as that of the service staff in the University, the hostels will be run with common and basic mess facilities with skeletal staff, and the campus Health Centre will cater only to emergency medical services.
The University declared that, in light of the provisions of The Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 invoked by the State Government of Telangana for prevention and control of the Covid-19 pandemic, students who wish to remain on campus will be permitted to do so after signing an Undertaking, taking responsibility for their decision and agreeing to adhere to all safety measures advocated by the state/university authorities. Those students who have already left the campus will not be permitted to come back until the situation returns to normal, as directed by the State government and the university advisory.
The University urged all those students continuing on the campus to strictly adhere to certain guidelines, including: maintenance of ‘social distance’ norms, curtailing movement outside the campus, not entertaining unauthorized persons in their rooms, not ordering food from delivery platforms, and compliance of any orders issued by the authorities from time to time towards efforts to control the spread of the virus.