New Attendance Rule

The old system, whereby up to five marks out of a hundred in any subject were awarded on the basis of the number of classes a student attended in a semester, has been scrapped with effect from the current semester. For the present, the five marks in question will be added to the grand total in the end semester written examinations. From the next semester onwards, so we are told, five marks will instead be set aside for class participation. Proformas shall no longer be accepted either. However, the rule that a student must have a minimum of 66% attendance to be eligible to write their test is still in force.

According to the Vice-Chancellor, the logic behind the move was that quality classroom teaching and not marks should the incentive for students to attend class; students will soon realize that if they do not attend class, their understanding of a subject will be hampered and their academic performance will anyway suffer. Other supporters hail the decision because they believe it will address a patently unfair situation which existed under the earlier rules: some students having access to committee proformas which they have been known to use for illegitimate purposes.

While this move was hailed by some as the best New Year’s gift they ever received, others among the faculty and students were heard sounding a more skeptical note. They predicted that with no incentive to come for class, attendance will drop drastically and academic development will suffer. Is this cynicism justified? Only time (and attendance registers) will tell.