Low attendance blues
Thanks to the newly introduced semester system in Delhi University this year, the first batch of students appearing for semester exams are constantly making notes of new set of instructions. Perhaps, the latest news from the University that concerns attendance has affected them most. Reportedly, at least 300 first-semester students from various DU colleges might drop a semester and take re-admission next year due to shortage in attendance.
According to the guidelines given by the University, minimum 66.7 per cent to 40 per cent attendance is required for students appearing for first semester exams this time. Since this is the first time DU is conducting semester exams, some colleges are allowing their students with short attendance also to sit for the exams. A DU senior official, informs, “The attendance guidelines given by the University suggest that the minimum attendance for first semester students have to be between 66.7 per cent to 40 per cent.”
Dr Kanika Khandelwal, media coordinator at Lady Shri Ram College for Women, mentions that there were very few cases of short attendance in their college as students were asked to have a minimum 75 per cent at the beginning of the semester system.
She says, “During the orientation programme for first semester students, the college wasn’t sure about the least required attendance, so professors advised students to have a minimum attendance of 75 per cent. Now that it’s clarified by DU that the minimum attendance is 66.7 per cent, students are happy that they are safe.”
Sanya Batra, a first semester student at Kamala Nehru College says that most of the DU colleges are being lenient this time with attendance since it’s the first semester exams that are being conducted. She says, “There was a major confusion regarding attendance this time in most of the DU colleges. In our college, students who were facing a short attendance problem were allowed to give first semester exams this time. They had to pay some fine and sign an undertaking, which says that they will be covering up for the loss of attendance in coming semester.”
Siddharth, a first semester student at Sri Venkateswara College, says that his college was also considerate this time and allowed students with low-attendance to sit for exams.
However, Jatin Singh, a student at DU, feels that by not letting students with short attendance appear for exams is an unfair decision. He says, “Right now it is not clear for many students and there are different interpretations of attendance in different courses. Earlier, students could pay fine and sit for exams, but now with this rule there will be no chance of bunking classes. This rule will surely mar college life, as students won’t be able to bunk classes.”
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