JNU to Implement Mandatory Attendance Rule from January 2018
- The decision to making attendance mandatory was taken by JNU Academic Council on December 1, 2017.
- Students and teachers claim that the decision was unilateral and no consultations were held regarding the new rules.
The authorities of Jawaharlal Nehru University have made it clear that attendance will be mandatory for the students enrolled in all the courses from the upcoming winter session in January 2018. The varsity issued an official circular regarding the mandatory attendance rule and stated that detailed guidelines such as minimum attendance percentage required and others will be made available soon. The administration of JNU also claimed that Academic Council approved the decision pertaining to mandatory attendance rule during a meeting that was held on December 1, 2017.
The latest decision of JNU led to contradictions among students and teachers. A few faculty members termed the decision of mandatory attendance rule as an ‘attack on JNU’s traditions’. Moreover, it is being alleged that Vice-Chancellor of the varsity took the decision unilaterally without holding adequate consultations with the teaching fraternity.
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On the other hand, student unions alleged that the mandatory attendance rule of JNU is ‘arbitrary’, ‘irrational’ and ‘anti-student’. The student unions are ready to launch a protest at any moment if the varsity does not roll back the mandatory attendance rule.
Vice President of JNU Students’ Union revealed that no such decision to make attendance mandatory was taken during the Academic Council meeting. The VC of varsity mentioned that they were planning to implement it but the final decision was not taken.
The faculty members of JNU are not in the favour of JNU’s decision. They claimed that the varsity does not have any problem with absenteeism. If the students miss classes, they would fall behind in academics, and it would be enough punishment for them. Therefore, making attendance mandatory is unnecessary, they argued.
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Recently, the varsity received criticism from students and faculty against its decision to scrap integrated M.Phil/ Ph.D. course. In this matter also the varsity took the decision unilaterally without holding consultations. The varsity rolled back the decision last week due to protests from the student community.