VIJAYAWADA: With exams scheduled from the second week of July, students are urging the state government to take up Covid-19 vaccination for them.
Engineering fourth-year exams being held from July 12 to 25 and colleges are asking students to take the jabs to write the exams. Thousands of students are worried about getting the jabs in time and some are going to private hospitals to take vaccines which is putting extra financial burden on the parents during the Covid-19 crisis.
According to reports, as many as 11,79,687 students are studying undergraduate courses in AP colleges and barring a few students, the majority of students have to get Covid-19 vaccine doses.
The state government is providing vaccines to people above 45 years of age and women having children below five years, but it is not providing vaccines to the age group of 18 to 45. Though the Centre had announced that administration of Corona vaccines to 18-45 years age groups would begin from June 21, the Andhra Pradesh government is yet to begin the drive.
The JNTU (Kakinada) primarily decided to conduct exams to final year engineering students from July 19 to 25 and JNTU (Anantapur) from July 12 to 19 in their affiliated colleges. The students were asked to choose examination centres near their houses as per their conveniences.
Engineering colleges are asking their students to take Covid-19 vaccines before attending the exams and further prior to reopening of colleges as a precautionary measure.
Students P. Rajesh and Md. Shuja said the colleges were sending messages asking them to get the vaccine, hence they went to several government Covid-19 vaccination centres but in vain. As the Union government had announced the vaccination process to start on June 21 to 18-45 years age groups, students want the AP government to take up the vaccination drive for them. They deplored that private hospitals were charging Rs 1,250 per dose and every student had to spend Rs 2,500 for two doses which was an extra financial burden on every family during the Covid-19 crisis.
Parents D. Kishore and G. Srinivas said the Covid-19 lockdown devastated their financial conditions for the past 16 months and they were facing severe problems. They lamented that they had two children each, hence it would cost them Rs 5,000 to administer two doses of Covid-19 vaccine doses in private hospitals which was a big extra financial burden. They said the financial conditions would not streamline till total lift of Corona restrictions and appealed to the government to conduct special Covid-19 vaccine drives in the respective colleges free of cost for the protection of students from the pandemic.
