Kolkata, March 5 (IANS) Two premier educational institutes in Bengal have barred visits of students, researchers and teachers to coronavirus-hit countries and scrapped exchange programmes with those nations to prevent any spread of the disease in campuses.

Calcutta University authorities have stopped issuing no-objection clearances to faculty, researchers and students planning a trip to the nations affected by the deadly disease, an official said.

There is also now a temporary restriction on teachers and guest speakers from those nations on attending seminars, symposiums and other programmes here.

The university has also advised its students from foreign countries not to leave India now, and even try to avoid visits to their motherland.

Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore founded Visva-Bharati University has scrapped visits by students from universities in China.

"We have now put a halt on cultural and educational exchanges involving Chinese universities," an official said.

--IANS ssp/vd