IT HAS been more than a year since Gurjeet Singh Jattana started pursuing MA in Punjabi from Panjab University, but he is yet to visit his own university. Now in his second year, he has left all hope of living a 'university life' free from the nuances of everyday struggles. "I had completed my graduation from DAV college, Bhatinda and university was always the dream. I was elated when I cleared the entrance, thinking the lockdown would be lifted soon and I would be able to join physically, but I was wrong," says a dejected Gurjeet. Hailing from Mansa district of Punjab, he now religiously spends his days studying on his mobile phone. “My classes start at 9 am and go on till 3 pm. There is nothing university-like in it. It is a robotic voice delivering lectures. I sometimes listen to them but mostly just scroll away on social media,” he says. The classes in 'online mode' have taken away what studying actually meant, he says. “College used to mean friends, coffee, fun and studies. But in the online mode, its zero interaction and one sided lectures. I do not even know my class-mates, let alone form bonds with juniors, seniors or strangers.” For Sahil, currently in second year of MA Sociology, studies have now boiled down to getting a degree. “It is not an experience anymore. It is only grinding till you get that degree and show everyone you made it past the lockdown and the coronavirus with some semblance of an achievement,” he says. For him, his days mostly look like alternating between house chores and his lectures. "Whenever I am attending classes, family walks in and asks me to get groceries or do something else. When I tell them my classes are on-going, they say 'mobile chalata rehta hai bas.' This is what it means to them. There is no benefit in studying like this with zero exposure and in a vacuum of things that actually make for the college experience,” adds Sahil. For Monika, it is a bit more than just the 'university life'. Hailing from a small village Kapro in Hisar district of Haryana, her lockdown has been a struggle to say the least. “I suffer each day from family and societal pressures. Hailing from a small village acts as cherry on top with everyone asking me when will I get married,” she says. She had joined the MA classes for Public Administration course back in 2019 with a dream of preparing for the state civils alongside her classes. But it all came to a screeching halt soon after, as the country went into lockdown and the university shut its door on students. “I had to go back to my village. I thought it'd be for a small time but my degree is over and I am still stuck here,” she says. Monica has now begun preparations for the civil services from home itself but finds it difficult to focus. “The family and neighbors are always going on about something or the other. There are too many issues that prevail. University acted as a bubble from it all. But I was thrust back into this life with the advent of Covid. Studies are a sham here. There is no network, libraries or notes. No innovation, creation and self- development. There are no friends, teachers or opportunities. I feel like I have stopped growing and I can do nothing about it,” she says. Several thousand such students await opening of universities. The Panjab University, more than a year and half later, on Monday opened its doors to a batch of post graduate, final year students at the University Institute of Engineering & Technology and Centre for System Biology & Bioinformatics (UIEAST). A committee was constituted by the Dean of University Instruction in September, to discuss the reopening of the university. The committee decided that the university will open for students in a phased manner. Several students meanwhile, have been protesting since March this year, a protest they resumed after the second wave on June 1, demanding the opening of university but to no avail.
