Present Ma'am!

ATTENDANCE IS AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF COLLEGE LIFE, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT IS LINKED WITH EXAMS. WHAT, THEN, CAN A STUDENT DO TO BALANCE CLASSES AND FUN?

“With great power comes great responsibility,” says Uncle Ben famously in the film Spider-man. While not a  superhero, as a college student newly emancipated from your parents’ doting care, you might feel like one. We’ll take Uncle Ben’s advice to heart. You may now have the freedom to decide which classes are worth your time and which are not, but you haven’t escaped rules entirely and neither the consequences for breaking them.

Just a number
The attendance rule of the University of Mumbai, which was changed a year and a half ago, did not find many fans when introduced. However, students were made aware that if the rule was not heeded, it could have a serious impact on their future. Colleges in Mumbai require 75% attendance, and any record falling short is subject to scrutiny. “75 is just a number,” says FYBA student Viraj Salunkhe, not willing to reveal his college. “Colleges understand the plight of students and allow even 50% attendance.” All the authorities need to know is whether the student is sincere.
“I agree,” says the principal of a well-known city college who prefers to remain anonymous. “We are not demons that dance on our students’ heads for trivial
matters, but attendance is a serious issue. Here we allow 40% attendance, but not lower. If a student goes below that mark, she/he is issued a warning and asked to remedy their record within a week. If that is done, we let it go, but unfortunately, there are some students who can’t be bothered. It is them that most colleges want to hold back as they show complete disregard not only for the system, but also for their future.”

The thrill of bunking
Students, however, want to enjoy their freedom and the thrill of bunking classes. Jyoti Sharma, a student from a prestigious South Mumbai college, says,  Bunking has been on my schedule ever since class 10. I know that when I am with a group of friends, the place doesn’t matter, we are going to have fun! I want to know how it feels to be watching a movie while somewhere a teacher is teaching my class!” Kavitha Ramanathan, a senior science student, says, “Sometimes it is really frustrating to attend college,  especially on days that have no lab work and only theory classes. That’s when we decide to bunk and take a walk. Sometimes we chill out at the canteen, but if the bunking is planned, it is to watch a new movie. We skip almost five or six days of college a month, in spite of the strict rule which states that we cannot write an exam without enough attendance.”
In contrast, Rohini Palekar, another science student, says, “My attendance is something one would neither want to know nor talk about. I hardly attend college, but I have improved over the years with the many warnings I received. Once my parents were called to college and yelled at. That is when I started  making sure that I was just over the minimum.”

Dealing with bunking
College authorities are confounded by the problem. “We want students to enjoy college and study at the same time. We won’t police them if they behave maturely. We don’t like to call parents and yell at them. At 18, students are allowed to make important choices regarding marriage and driving, so why should parents go through the ordeal? But sometimes we have no choice,” says the vice-principal of a suburban Mumbai college.

At the end of the day…
Student Tina D’souza sums it up: “After we finish our degree, all we take with us are the few beautiful moments we shared with friends, not the time we spent in lectures.”

ON A LIGHTER NOTE
Anyhow Attendance Planner is a first-of-its-kind bunking calculator for Android mobile phones. It helps you keep a track of exactly how many lectures need to be attended to fulfill your attendance requirements.

Volume 3 Issue 8