Hyderabad: Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan asks vice-chancellors to rope in NCC, NSS, Red Cross volunteers for Covid awareness drive

Hyderabad: Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan on Friday called for the utilisation of services of the volunteers of the National Service Scheme, Junior Red Cross and Youth Red Cross to create awareness on Covid-19 prevention and to promote vaccination.

Addressing the vice-chancellors of the State universities through a video conference on Friday, she said, "While strictly adhering to the Covid-19 norms the volunteers can offer their services in creating awareness about proper wearing of masks, maintaining social distance and avoiding gatherings among all the sections of the people in their respective places."

In the video conference in which senior officials of the education department also participated, she said that the students of higher educational institutions and volunteers of different wings like NSS, NCC, YRC and JRC were a great resource for the utilisation to promote right awareness among the people.

"We may come out with the best medicines, ventilators, or oxygen supplies, but it is very important to prevent the spread of the pandemic by educating different sections of the people. Public education is very vital in the prevention of the pandemics of this nature," said Tamilisai.

"Though there is no need to panic, the situation is really alarming. It is distressing to know that at least 40 per cent of the Covid-19 patients are youth. There is an urgent need to create better awareness about the necessity for the strict adherence to the preventive norms."

The Governor asked the vice-chancellors to encourage the students to launch social media campaigns and to come up with innovative ideas on the promotion of preventive norms and to encourage vaccination.

She also advised the vice-chancellors to ensure 100 per cent vaccination of their teaching and non-teaching staff. All the eligible students, who are above 18 years, must also be encouraged to go for vaccination beginning May 1.

The Governor also reviewed the progress of online classes, online examinations, online valuation, results declaration, and the preventive norms in place in the campuses.

She directed the vice-chancellors to expedite the networking and registration of all the alumni of their respective universities to utilise alumni services for the all-round development of the campuses and for the benefit of the students.

She suggested that the universities build online and digital library resources for the benefit of those underprivileged students, who cannot access the online classes on time.

Special Chief Secretary (Education) Chitra Ramachandran, senior IAS officials acting as the in-charge vice-chancellors Jayesh Ranjan, Arvind Kumar, B. Janardhan Reddy, Naveen Mittal, Neetu Kumari Prasad, Vikas Raj, Rahul Bojja and the vice-chancellors of different universities presented their reports to the Governor.