Coronavirus: IIM Kozhikode Suspends Classes of Academic Programmes, Takes Series of Proactive Measures on Government Guidelines to Combat Threat to Community

Kozhikode: The Indian institute of Management Kozhikode has issued a series of guidelines and notifications as preventive measures owing to the emerging threat of the geographical spread of Covid-19.

The Institute was one of the first IIMs to internally apprise its community of the developing situation around Covid-19, as early as in the second week of February, by detailing and sharing information on the symptoms, transmission, precautions to be taken, FAQs and the prevailing situation report through a comprehensive booklet “ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CORONAVIRUS” prepared in consultation with a medical expert. As the situation escalated with reported spread of Covid-19 outside China, including cases in India, the IIMK administration proactively shared the Note issued by Health & Family Welfare Department, Government of Kerala, regarding precautionary measures to be taken including self-vigilance and isolation in case of any symptoms.

Further elaborating on the measures taken by IIMK, Prof.Debashis Chatterjee, Director IIMK, in a statement shared, “Our Institute has been proactive in implementing the precautionary measures that have been shared widely during the past few weeks, as advised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the World Health Organisation. The safety and well-being of every individual of IIMK Community is our top most priority and in order to avoid large gathering, classes of all academic programmes have been cancelled till 31.03.2020. Students have also been instructed to vacate their hostels at the earliest in line with the community safety measures adopted by the Institute as directed by the Government. ” He had also earlier announced that the Annual Convocation of the Institute which was scheduled for 04th April has also been postponed. “This decision has been taken to avoid putting our community of students and families at risk, both due to travel and large gatherings.”

Some of the major steps taken by the IIMK Administration in the wake of Covid-19 are:

Dissemination of advisories issued by MoHFW, UGC to sensitise students, faculty and staff on the Dos and Don’ts while combating Covid-19.
Postponement of interviews for admission to flagship Post Graduate Programme (PGP) scheduled from 23rd March.
‘Work from Home’ for Staff members of Group B and C, as per directives received from the Central Government.
Punching attendance by staff only by using face recognition to avoid contact transmission as a preventive step.
Restriction on to and fro movement of outsiders/visitors into the campus. They will also be subject to checks for possible symptoms by the institute Security, recently equipped with contact-free temperature check guns.
Temporary ban on using of Gym, Yoga training and crèche facilities at IIMK
Provision of alcohol-based Sanitizers, Soaps, for use as disinfectants, across the Campus and its various facilities, to promote ‘Break the Chain’ Campaign of the Kerala Government.
Children from community have also been counselled and sensitised against group gathering and play activities.
Frequent postings on IIMK’s official Social Media handles to sensitise followers on the best practices, preventive measures to be followed to combat outbreak as part of community driven sense of responsibility.
Essential services like housekeeping, security, administration and mess services will keep functioning with close monitoring of the situation and the staff involved. Further, IIMK administration has also worked on a ‘Contingency Plan’ to cater to any upcoming exigency in the event of aggravation of the Covid-19 outbreak.