Online life-skills training for polytechnic students put on hold after protests

chennai: the directorate of technical education (dote) has temporarily suspended its proposed two-week online life-skills training programme for final-year polytechnic students following strong opposition from both students and faculty.tamil nadu has 55 government, 34 government-aided and 391 private polytechnic colleges, with over 12,000 students currently in their final year. dote had instructed institutions to conduct nine-hour online sessions daily, with only a 30-minute lunch break. a circular issued by technical education commissioner innocent divya also directed students to attend all sessions and reportedly asked them to follow an instagram page linked to the training provider, triggering further controversy.opposition grew after students and lecturers argued that the long online schedule would place unnecessary pressure on students who are set to begin their six-month industrial training from the first week of december. many demanded that the programme be withdrawn entirely.amid mounting criticism, authorities announced the temporary suspension of the online training, citing continuous heavy rain in southern districts and rain alerts in northern districts. however, faculty members said the real reason was the widespread backlash, adding that the programme should be cancelled altogether considering students' upcoming industrial training requirements.