JNU teachers’ body opposes mandatory attendance at university
The JNUTA has now written to the five member committee that has been instituted to fine-tune the modalities for the attendance system, including on how much attendance would be needed, to express their discontent.
A day after the JNU made attendance mandatory for students registered in all programmes from winter session 2018, the Jawaharlal Nehru University’s teacher’s body wrote to the five-member attendance committee opposing the move.
The JNU teachers’ association (JNUTA) reiterated its allegations that the decision was taken without due deliberation, is arbitrary and is trying to “manufacture a problem where none exists.” The committee is supposed to lay down the attendance guidelines.
For the first time since its inception, JNU has made attendance mandatory from the next semester set to begin in January for all regular registered students. According to a circular, that was issued by the university on Friday, the decision to make attendance compulsory for students was taken during the part A of the 144th Academic Council meeting held on December 1. This would apply to all undergraduate, postgraduate and research programme students.
Students from across party lines and a section of the faculty members had opposed the move. The JNUTA has now written to the five member committee that has been instituted to fine-tune the modalities for the attendance system, including on how much attendance would be needed, to express their discontent.
Their first allegation is that no such decision regarding attendance had been made during the AC meeting and the minutes of the meeting had been “mischievously recorded on the item.” They also allege that according to the JNU Act, ordinances and statutes, the schools and boards of studies are charged with prescribing “academic administration of teaching and research” and their decisions would be applicable only to their respective centres or schools.
“There is no pernicious tendency towards absenteeism in JNU students at any level... We believe that the motive is what has become routine since February 2016- the defamation of JNU, and its student and teacher communities,”
The Vice chancellor of the university did not respond to HT’s requests for comments.