Chennai: Anna University has revised the academic schedule for the even semesters, extending the winter vacation for BE and BTech students. Under the new schedule, undergraduate students on the university campuses, including the College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG), Madras Institute of Technology (MIT) and Alagappa College of Technology, will have winter vacation from Dec 25 to Jan 17.Earlier, engineering students were given a two-week winter break.“Colleges have been witnessing poor attendance during the first week of January as it falls between the Christmas and Pongal holidays. This extended vacation will help students spend more time with their families and return refreshed when the college reopens,” Anna University registrar (in-charge) V Kumaresan said.The three campuses will reopen on Dec 7 after the semester examinations. “Classes will be conducted for three weeks, followed by the winter vacation. This continuous break will also reduce travel during the holiday season. We have revised the winter vacation schedule for affiliated colleges as well,” he said.More than two lakh students are studying in Anna University’s affiliated colleges. For affiliated colleges, the winter vacation will be from Jan 1 to 17. Classes for the next semester will begin on Dec 21.“We expect more than 50% nonattendance after the New Year. Students may also leave a day or two before Pongal, while students from other states may not return before the festival. So, this is a good move by the university,” a professor at an engineering college said.As engineering admissions continued until Sept, the first-semester examinations were delayed. Second-semester classes will begin after the examinations. However, autonomous engineering colleges said they would follow their own academic schedules.
