The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, on Wednesday announced that it will scrap classroom lectures for the rest of the year because of coronavirus risks, becoming the first major institute in the country to do so.

IIT-Bombay Director Subhasis Chaudhuri, in a Facebook post, said that the safety of students is the institute’s top priority. “After a long deliberation in the Senate, we have decided today [Wednesday], that the next semester will be run purely in the online mode so that there is no compromise on the safety and well being of the students,” he wrote. “We took the first step in India in concretely deciding how we must bring a closure to the current semester to help our students.”

The institute has also opened a donation fund to help students from economically weaker sections get the necessary technology to attend online classes. “We do not want a single student to miss out the learning experience for the lack of money,” Chaudhuri added. “We have estimated that we need about Rs 5 crores to help those needy students. Our alumni have committed a good amount of support, but that is not enough for all these needy students.”

The coronavirus has adversely impacted academic activities in India. All schools and colleges have been closed since March. The Central Board of Secondary Education and the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education also did not hold board examinations over the summer.

India is witnessing an alarming increase in the number of coronavirus cases. The country’s overall count reached 4,73,105 on Thursday with a record 16,922 new cases. The highly contagious disease has killed 14,894 people across the country. Maharashtra is India’s worst-hit state so far with 1,42,900 cases, including 6,739 deaths. Mumbai alone has close to 70,000 cases.

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