New Delhi, Aug 29 (IANS): O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) announced the commencement of the new academic session 2020-21 for the first-year students on September 1 with a record number of new admissions.

JGU said 2,500 new students join JGU in the new academic year with an overall 50 per cent rise in admissions this year.

This is an unprecedented moment as the education sector has been severely disrupted by Covid-19 global pandemic. It has been JGU's endeavour to ensure uninterrupted learning for its students who have joined the university during the pandemic, a statement said.

Earlier, JGU had already begun the new academic session for its existing students on August 17 and classes are underway in the online mode.

JGU said it is committed to ensuring quality and continuity across all its academic programmes, while ensuring safety, security and well-being of all its students, faculty and staff.

This year, JGU has launched several new undergraduate and post graduate programmes across its nine schools with options for pursuing Humanities fellowships to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Legal Studies, Environmental Studies, Design, Political Science, Economics and Social Policy.

Over 600 faculty members to teach online using latest tech platforms and students from nearly all the states and union territories of India have joined JGU.

International students from several countries including, Ireland, Malaysia, Nepal, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, and United States of America have taken admission to JGU this year.

C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University, said, "We have been deeply concerned about the future of our students and the associated safety and health concerns during this COVID-19 global pandemic. These are extraordinary times when the world of higher education and universities have been challenged by the pandemic. I am delighted to share with you that the admissions process of all the schools of JGU were completed smoothly and successfully in an Online and Remote-Proctored entrance exam format."

"This has only proved that our early decision to go fully online, completely eliminating any face-to-face interaction in the entrance examination process, was the best and indeed the safest option. We were conscious of the inherent safety, security and well-being of the students, their family members and their concerns relating to health became paramount in our decision to implement the AI-Enabled, Remote-Proctored entrance exams. We began the new academic session for our existing students on 17th August and are commencing the classes for the new students on 1st September and look forward welcoming the best talent to our classrooms," he said.