Bengaluru Colleges, Hostels Reopen date: Tuesday is the day for students, but this test is mandatory

Bengaluru Colleges, Hostels Reopen date: Students have been stuck at home for months and months. They have been deprived of proper education and even the companionship of their peers, which is certainly part of the learning experience at institutions. The same goes for the presence of a teacher - personalised teaching is better than the digital version, surely. Well, for the students in Bengaluru this entire episode is coming to an end and they can soon go back to a normal life at their educational centres. 

Bengaluru colleges and hostels are reopening on Tuesday. However, students have to follow SOPs issued by UGC and Government of Karnataka, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

They, as well as the staff at these institutions, will have to undergo RT-PCR test for COVID-19. If the report comes out positive, they will be sent back home. Those who get negative reports will be allowd to attend. This test is valid for 72 hours in the absence of any symptoms. 

Each educational institution or college will be linked to one of the 141 BBMP UPHCs where they can get themselves tested between 9 am and 5 pm. The numbers are indeed massive - in 432 colleges, there are over 60,000 students, teachers and non teaching staff.

However, there will eb some relief as an additional 450 mobile swab collection teams from each PHCs will deployed near educational institutions/colleges. 

However, consideriong that parents are a worried lot, number of students are not expected to hit 100% in terms of attendance. The colleges are expecting around 30% student attendance initially.

Swab test samples will be quickly sent for analysis to labs so as to get reports within 24 hours. The medical officers will monitor to avoid any delays and send sample collection data daily to cpmobbmp@gmail.com. Results will be uploaded to ICMR portal within 24 hrs without fail and these will be available to everyone.