Numbers begins to loom in the distance as exams get closer and students begin to worry about having the minimum percentage for attendance. In most colleges in the city, the bar set for the attendance is no less than 75 percent that students must maintain throughout a semester.
This is every Bengaluru student’s nightmare as attendance plays a demanding role in their lives, it begins to hassle them and they mark time in classrooms for the sake of attendance.
The minimum attendance set usually depends on the course that a student takes up in the college. Derrick Alex a student of St Joseph’s College of Arts and Science says, “If it is a theory oriented course, you do need to be in class at that point of time. There are certain cases where the management understands. Most colleges have a deadline of mandatory 75 percentages of attendance, and in genuine cases when there is a shortage of between 70 to 75, a reasonable explanation or getting an assignment done can get you through.”
Students are in fact affected by the attendance clause as Suvina Alexander, a student of biomedical engineering at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology claims,
“Students face issues when they have to get their hall ticket. So attending class becomes a chore rather than an enjoyable experience.”
The truth is that as long as you have a reason to go to class, attendance shouldn’t be an issue. Asma Afreen, a postgraduate student of psychological counselling rightly says, “It depends on how interested and focused you are. Also, when you have projects and internships it becomes vital to attend class and you practically begin living in college.”
Colleges like Christ University allot marks for the attendance depending on the percentage which can be a motivator for students.
For parents, the attendance clause could actually be a relief, as their kids would have to be in college regularly. Nikitha Vidyalankar an english honours students says, “There has always been a notion around Bengaluru, that students who migrate to the city for college get carried away by other interests. A lot of parents think twice before they send their kids to college here, so when a college management emphasises that 85 or 75 percentage of attendance is necessary, parents are also more comfortable, knowing that their children will attend college.
But there is also the other side, when having to maintain an attendance gets very hectic and you can’t really take a break!”
