Heartening that students are becoming drivers of change

This picture has been used for representational purpose

Colleges have made it mandatory to be fully vaccinated to attend classes in person. The heartening aspect though is that the institutions are providing easy access to vaccinations through a special drive sponsored by the state government.

A report detailed how the special drive for college students began on Monday and nearly 4,000 students were vaccinated across 35 colleges. A college principal has stated that students want to be back in colleges and they need to be fully vaccinated.

Volunteers within colleges itself are ensuring that the drive goes smoothly. The response has been uplifting. From students wanting to be vaccinated, as they want to attend college, to realising that they need to be fully jabbed for train travel, their perspective is a mirror to the responsibility they feel towards themselves and the community.

The drive, along with the state govt, is a welcome one. The moot point here is accessibility. One has to realise that despite advice, people will be less inclined to take the jab, if it is inaccessible or takes too much travel time and expense to reach the venue. A huge benefit is that it is made available at the colleges itself.

In the midst of the vaccine drive, one witnessed several workplaces holding drives for their employees, even those who were working from home. This was done to make the jab more accessible.

Thirdly, one saw that there were volunteers among youngsters who were helping in the smooth conduct of the drive. All this goes to prove that the younger generation is alive to and aware of the risks of the virus but we still need many more numbers and this drive needs to be more robust. More power to the drive and let students be the drivers of this initiative.