Students of top B-School allege authorities are negligent about precautionary measures against the flu. College says they want an unscheduled holiday
Students of top B-School allege authorities are negligent about precautionary measures against the flu. College says they want an unscheduled holiday
The swine flu may have been added to the list of easy excuses for students to bunk classes.
At Amity International, a leading business school in Noida, students are up in arms, demanding suspension of classes because the flu has infected 'two' in the campus. They have resorted to protests after the college authorities allegedly failed to take adequate measures to prevent the spread of the virus. However, college authorities say the situation is completely under control and the students just want an unscheduled holiday.
Student power
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Swiney day? A notice outside the RS Junior Modern School, New Delhi, declares a holiday because of the swine flu scare PIC/IMTIYAZ KHAN |
Second Year students of Biotech at Amity University have alleged that despite two confirmed cases of the flu in the campus, including one in the hostel, the authorities are taking the matter very lightly and no stringent precautionary measures have been taken.
Neeraj Kumar (name changed), a Second Year student of Biotech, said, "We protested in front of our director's room and unanimously decided to boycott classes. But he warned us that we would be expelled if the protests continue. The college did nothing except clean the floor with an disinfectant." "We have been asking for protective surgical masks so that other students do not get infected, but the authorities are not bothered.
Though the sixth floor of the hostel, where the infected student was staying was vacated, but only after a day all the girls were asked to shift back to their rooms. Our parents are calling us home, but the college is not granting us leave," said another student from the same course, requesting anonymity.
College control
However, rejecting the allegations, Amity spokesperson Savita Mehta said just one confirmed case of the flu has been detected in the campus and that student too has been successfully treated. "The second case from the hostel is not yet confirmed. Still we sanitised the sixth floor of the girls' hostel where the suspected patient stayed. Some students don't want to attend classes and want a holiday in the name of swine flu. Examinations are round the corner and we can't afford to stop the classes. We have already sanitised the class from where the confirmed case of swine flu was detected. Even if we suspend classes, students will not stop going to other public places like malls, cinema halls and markets, from where they can be infected as well. We don't want to create unnecessary panic," said Mehta.
The government has directed educational institutions to let students infected with the swine flu to stay at home for a period of seven to 10 days without a medical certificate.
Talking about the precautionary measures taken by the college, Mehta said, "The college has two resident doctors who are taking care of suspected flu cases. The college has also tied up with Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and issued an advisory to students about the precautionary measures they can adopt to stay safe from the flu."
What the government says>>Any student or staff showing flu like symptoms such as fever, cough, running nose and difficulty in breathing should be allowed to stay at home for 7 to 10 days.
>>Educational institutions should not insist on production of medical certificate by the student/staff.
>>Institutions should monitor the health status of students/staff who might have come in contact with a suspected case of Influenza H1N1 to see whether they develop flu like symptoms.u00a0 In case they do so, they should be allowed to stay home
>>In case of students staying in hostels, the institutions will not only monitor the health status of the students, but also that of the care providers.u00a0 It might not be advisable to send boarders back home, as it would spread the infection further.
>>Educational institutions should report such cases to local health officers for further monitoring
>>Given the current magnitude of the spread of H1N1 infection and the fact that the current virus is fairly mild, closure of educational institutions on account of any student/staff member falling ill with flu like symptoms is not recommended
>>Schools should discourage excursions to affected countries
>>In case if students had proceeded to affected countries on unavoidable tours, then on their return, if some show flu like symptoms, they should be advised to abstain from attending school
